


Which One Is John?

by forty_Marris_pies



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aaron as Voice of Reason, Alternate Universe - High School, Angelica is a Workaholic Trope, Chapters after the first one will lead up to the actual prom, Don't Give Angelica Coffee, Everyone is Acting Strange, John as Repressed Nerd, M/M, Not In Chronological Order, Peggy as Ultimate Wingman, Prom, Should have mentioned that before, Shy John, Thomas is Relevant, Wait you're telling me that's not a trope, Where I Live I Always Update Late at Night, Wow look there's plot now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2018-12-12 04:38:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11729655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forty_Marris_pies/pseuds/forty_Marris_pies
Summary: Strangers keep walking up to John's table during lunch, asking him strange questions and staring at him strangely. John is also avoiding having to answer Lafayette's and Hercules's inquiries. Strange. In addition to that, Alex is acting strange.A High School AU where Alexander asks Laurens to prom. Prom season is over, but I just had to write this.





	1. Oh, So That's John

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this all in one sitting, and I don't think I regret it. Very little editing, but I hope it's all right. A little backstory:
> 
> Basically, they're all in high school, and Laurens sits next to Alexander during Biology. Lafayette, Hercules, and Laurens all sit in one table during lunch. The sisters, Burr, and Alexander, all sit in another table. When they find out Hamilton wants to ask a certain "John Laurens" to prom, they're ready to figure out who the guy was that stole his heart. They're kinda weird about it, though.

Lunch had just started, and all the students piled up in the outdoor cafeteria. John, the shy, quiet senior, sat in his regular seat, a bench far away from the crowd. His friends, Lafayette and Hercules, joined him a few minutes later. They were discussing the results of the recent biology test, with John being bombarded with questions from his friends on how we was able to score a hundred percent. It was quite a normal conversation, until somebody came over to their table.

“I don’t understand, John! Half of the questions were based on subjects we haven’t even covered in class yet!” Lafayette put his hands up in surrender, and sighed. “How will I explain this to my parents?”

“Relax, Laf,” Hercules said as he jokingly patted Lafayette’s head, which was now buried under his arms. “It’s the first test where you’ve gotten less than ninety percent, and besides; eighty four isn’t so bad. Just be glad you didn’t get my score…” Hercules pulled out his test score from his backpack, the big ‘72%’ in red letters at the top.

John laughed sympathetically at his friends’ misfortune. “This is just one test, guys. It was probably a fluke.” Lafayette perked his head up quickly.

“John. Three-fourths of the class failed. And we’re in Advanced Placement. That’s saying something.” Hercules nods. “You’ve got to have some sort of secret, no? Do you cheat?” Lafayette gasped. “Have you been cheating your way through the class?”

“What? Of course not.” John shook his head. “And it’s not like I magically understand the material or anything, it’s just that my partner is –” His eyes widened, and he practically slammed his hand up to his mouth to stop himself from continuing. They all stared at each other, with John frozen in place while Hercules and Lafayette squint their eyes questioningly. One of them was about to make a move, surely, but the hard sound of something banging on the lunch table made them turn their heads in the direction of the noise.

Standing there was the frown of a student, not familiar to any of them. He held his lunch tray in one hand, having his fist on the table, and his eyes switching to stare at each of them. He broke the silence by bringing his whole tray down onto the table and asking them a question. “So… which one of you is John Laurens?”

Lafayette is quick to respond. “Hold on, and who are you again?”

His voice came out a bit defensive, and it seemed as though it somewhat bothered the stranger until he huffed and answered, “Aaron. Aaron Burr. Now, who here is John Laurens?”

John, recognizing the name, found his voice. “T-That’d be me…” Aaron whips his head to the side of the bench where John is sitting and does some sort of examination with his eyes. He hums in contemplation, and then proceeds to sit down right next to John. “You’re alright,” Aaron finally says. “I’m close acquaintances with Alex and – you know Alex right?” John nods, still nervous about having a stranger sit next to him.

Aaron continued to silently judge John while his two friends on the other side of the table mumbled incoherent questions. “…You’re Alex’s friend, right?” John asks shyly. “He always talks about wanting to beat your high tests scores in history.”

Aaron’s face contorted into disgust. “Ugh, he doesn’t actually use the word ‘friend’, right? And besides, he can keep dreaming, but beating me is never gonna happen.” He takes a bite out of his apple.

“John,” he asks between munches, “how did you score in the biology test?”

“Uhh, um… A hundred percent…” John fidgets nervously in his seat, still not quite sure what Aaron’s intentions were, or why Alex’s friend suddenly jumped on him during lunch.

“Impressive,” Aaron says as his frown disappears and turns into a small grin. “You’re alright, John, you’re alright.” He trails off and, just as suddenly as he came, stands up and walks out of sight.

“Okay, what the fuck.” Hercules motions his hands to John. “What. The fuck. Was that.” John just gives him a shrug and a half hearted smile, still not sure just what to tell his friends. Luckily, the bell rings, and John picks up his backpack before sprinting away from the new bombardment of questions his friends were going to give him.

*

Unfortunately, John knew he was going to have to talk to his friends the following day about what happened, and he took a deep breath as he walked to the familiar bench outside, where Hercules was already sitting. He called out to him.

“Hey, Herc. How was class?” He was greeted with a blank face.

“Why’d Aaron Burr harass you yesterday?” As he sat on the other side of the bench, John shrugged. He wasn’t quite sure himself. Hercules sighed. “Okay, how about this. Who’s Alex?”

John immediately squeaked at the sound of… _his_ name, and he tried desperately to cover his face before it turned red enough to tell Hercules exactly who he was. He took a few seconds to calm his heart thumping – _gosh, heart, can you stop doing that_ – and felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Lafayette, who walked over to the opposite side of the table and sat facing John. He motioned to him. “So? Who is Alex, mon ami?” He and Hercules were patiently waiting his response. But John, the shy, quiet senior, had no idea how to tell his friends that Alex is his biology partner, and crush. He’s always denied liking people when his friends teased him about it. It’s not that he doesn’t trust them, it’s just that he finds his love life to be very personal.

Weighing his options, he decided to somehow begrudgingly lie to his friends about Alex… until he was very rudely interrupted by the loud voice of a girl.

“Excuse me! Hey, hello, my name’s Angelica, I was just wondering, but uh, which one of you is John?” She held her hands behind her back, as if she had some type of authority, and it made everybody a bit on edge.

Hercules cracked first. “Okay, seriously? What’s up with people we don’t know coming to harass John during lunch?” He looks over to Lafayette, who looked as confused and irritated as himself. Angelica smiled at the comment, but turned to face John.

“It must be you, right?” She bends down to do something similar to what Aaron did the other day, even humming the way he did. “You’re really quite, aren’t you?”

“Um,” John quickly tries to think of something to say. “You, you’re Angelica Schuyler, right? The oldest Schuyler sister?” She nods, pleased to know that John recognized her somehow. She, like Aaron, takes a seat next to him. “He uh, Alex always talks about you and your sisters. Y-you guys sound like fun,” John says, smiling despite how uncomfortable he was with yet another stranger in near proximity.

This comment makes Angelica very happy, apparently, because she giggles and puts her hand over her heart. “He talks to you about us? All good things, right?” He chuckles and nods. Angelica’s smile increases with every passing second, and she looks like she’s about to tackle him into a hug. Lafayette and Hercules, on the other hand, pretty much have given up on trying to understand the situation, and are now paying attention to another girl racing across the cafeteria towards their table. When she finally reaches them, she stops for a bit to catch her breath, but is suddenly pulled by Angelica to sit next to her.

“Eliza, Eliza! This is John, isn’t he just adorable? Alex sure found the jackpot – oh! He knows about us too! Can you believe Alex talks nicely about us to his cr–” the girl, Eliza, immediately clamps her hands over Angelica’s mouth. Angelica also clamps her own mouth, and as she peels Eliza’s hands off of her, she reveals the thin line of her lips. “ _Whoops_ ,” she chuckles nervously.

Eliza shakes her head and groans in frustration. John is, surprisingly, the one to greet her. “Elizabeth Schuyler? Second oldest?” He offers a hand to her, and she accepts with a bright smile.

“John Laurens. It’s so nice to meet you! Alex talks about you too, he says you’re very smart and… admirable.” She stands up, and finally addresses the two confused guys on the other side of the table. “I’m so sorry to bother you guys, we must have ruined your lunch. My sister just,” she faces Angelica, “uh, she sometimes doesn’t… _think_ about the consequences.” Angelica shoos her away.

“Hercules and Lafayette, right? I think I have you two for English. It’s nice to meet you,” Eliza says as she extends her hand to them. They take it hesitantly, but with the polite smile Eliza has on, they feel like she is someone they can trust.

“Yes, well, you shouldn’t apologize,” Lafayette finally says, “our lunch was in no way ruined by your presence, madam.” Angelica sharply stares in his direction.

“Hey! No flirting with my sister,” she barks.

“Though,” Lafayette continues, ignoring Angelica’s comment, “I would like to ask why your sister has come to our usually peaceful table to talk to our dear John.”

“Who’s Alex?” Is the question Hercules prefers better, and Eliza decides to answer his instead.

“Alexander is partners with John in his biology class. He always tells us about how amazing it is to have him as his partner,” she pauses, “… because, uh, b-because of how smart John is! Right!” She grabs Angelica’s hand harshly and pulls her away from the table. “Well, we better get going, lunch will end soon! Again, I’m sorry for intruding on your break. It was nice meeting you guys!” And just like Aaron, the two sisters are gone.

“Partners, huh?” Lafayette comments to no one in particular. He turns away from the fading sisters and faces John. “Is he your secret to getting perfect scores on tests?”

Hercules adds, “But then how does that explain why all of your partner’s friends come to bother you?”

Lafayette continues, “And what’s with their staring? They stare a lot. Is that something Americans do?” He and Hercules start exchanging questions, and as the bell rings to signal the end of lunch, John sighs. He’s glad he doesn’t have to talk about Alex anymore, but something in his gut tells him that their next lunch will be weirder than the last two.

*

As it turns out, lunch was pretty weird, but his biology class happened before lunch, and that hour was pretty weird. Alex was avoiding his gaze, flinching at the slightest contact between the two (which, by the way, was the highlight of John’s day – when he would casually graze his hand over Alex’s and they would stare shyly into each other’s eyes), and tried very hard to nonverbally communicate with him. It was so out of character for Alex, being so confident and outgoing, that it almost made John forget about the weird encounter with the sisters during lunch. Almost.

“Hey, Alex?” He turns to see his partner typing furiously into his laptop. Alex hums to acknowledge John (nonverbal communication), and keeps on writing. “Well, uh, I kinda wanted to ask about your uh, friends.” Alex looks up this time, not sure what John wanted to tell him. “They’ve been trying to talk to me these past days. It’s kinda getting weird…”

Alex suddenly finds this interesting. “Wait, what? What have they been telling you?” He sits up straight. “They didn’t tell you anything, uh, about uh…” he trails off, nervously running his hands through his long hair, tied in a ponytail.

“Aaron came and sort of just looked at me, Angelica… did basically the same thing, and Eliza, I guess Eliza just came to take Angelica away…” He shrugs, not knowing what else to tell him.

Alex breathes a sigh of relief. “So they didn’t tell you anything?”

“About what?” John asks. He tilts his head questioningly, and it would be a lie to say that the sound Alex makes didn’t surprise him. Alex turns away, shifting so that he’s as far away from John as he can be while still sitting in his chair. John frowns at this. “Did I… uh, did I, do anything? You seem so, distant these days. Is there something bothering you?”

Alex slowly turns to him and sighs. “No, no. It’s not you, I mean it kind of is, but – no! No, I uh, you didn’t do anything wrong…” He gives us trying to explain and instead bangs his head on the table. “John, you’re really… amazing, you know that?”

John blushes furiously at the compliment, and now he’s the one without words. “Th-thank you. Um.” He sighs as well, hoping that Alex can’t hear how fast his heart is beating. “You… you’re really, really amazing, too. You’re,” he looks at Alex, “You’re wonderful.”

*

John has been very quiet all through lunch, even for his standards. He’s just so worried about what could be causing Alex to act so different. He’s afraid that maybe he doesn’t enjoy being with John, or that he’s done something to annoy Alex. His two friends are alarmed by this, and they were about to try to confront him about his behavior, when they hear the tapping of someone’s shoes approaching.

“Hey, John?”

John’s heart skips a beat, immediately recognizing the smooth, attractive voice. “A-Alex! What… What are you doing here?” He looks up to Alex, who is holding something behind his back, and is sweating… nervously? Alex wasn’t even looking directly at him, somehow finding the floor to be deeply interesting.

“This is Alex?” Hercules asks, staring intensely at him. “Is he gonna bother us again? ‘Cause lunch is about to end.”

“Yeah, uh,” Alex pauses, “Sorry about my friends. I didn’t know they were interrogating you. And actually, I did come here to see John. To… ask you a question.” He was still staring at the floor.

Alex takes a deep breath and quickly pushes a bouquet of flowers into John’s arms. This action cause Lafayette to gasp, a nearby Angelica to groan (“You were supposed to give him the flowers after.”), and John to freeze.

“I know I only talk to you for like, one hour a day, but honestly, that one hour is pretty much the best hour of my life,” Alex confesses. “You’re so...,” he makes strange motions with his hand, “amazing and, smart, and witty, and… _beautiful_. I can always talk to you, and you always make me feel better. Just looking at you brightens up my day! Gosh, I can’t even describe in words how you make me feel but uh…,” he clears his throat, “I um, I wanted to ask you, if you… a-and it’s okay if you say no, but…”

He gets on one knee and looks up at John. “Would you like to go to prom with me?”

John hears Lafayette squeal before he processes what Alex just asked him.

“Wait, really?! You’re asking me to prom?” He almost jumps out to hug Alex, but he remembers the flowers crushed into his arms, so he throws them aside. Lafayette grabs them quickly so that they don’t fall off the table, and with Hercules, watches John throw his arms around Alex.

“Yes!” He answers.

“Really?” Alex stands up, gripping John’s waist. “Wow, that went better than I thought it –” he’s interrupted by John, who’s so happy that he brings their lips together.

Lafayette claps excitedly, wiping a fake tear from his eye, and whispers to Hercules, ' _Our John is all grown up_!'

There are people around them who stop to clap with Lafayette, including the Schuyler sisters, who yell words of praise to their friend. John doesn’t hear any of this, though. The feeling of Alex’s tongue sliding over his bottom lip and a set of strong hands settling over his hips has his mind reeling. In desperate need of oxygen, he pulls away for a moment. There’s a dazed smile on Alex’s face, and John is pretty sure he has a similar expression.

“Is that what’s been bothering you?” He asks knowingly. “You were worried I would say no?”

“Basically,” Alex admits. He chuckles when John pulls him in for another kiss, this one deeper and lasting longer than necessary.

“Okay, but guys,” Hercules says, making the crowd of people turn towards him, “Can you stop making out? We’re at school.”

Lafayette smacks him with the flowers.


	2. Group Chat Name: Alex's Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [5:08] Angelica: Aaron, have you noticed Alexander acting strangely recently?
> 
> [5:09] Aaron Burr: now that you mention it…
> 
> [5:09] Aaron Burr: he has been strangely interested in the upcoming prom
> 
> [5:09] Aaron Burr: he’s been asking about tickets and stuff
> 
> [5:10] Eliza: oooh!
> 
> [5:10] Eliza: he must want to ask this Laurens girl to prom!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short group chat occurring before and after the first chapter. A little thing to note: 
> 
> There are some events that aren't talked about in this (Alex finding out about his friends talking to John, the whole proposal scene) because I figured they would talk about it during lunch and not while texting. 
> 
> Also, the time of their texts is always p.m., but when I realized I hadn't written that I was way too lazy to put p.m. in EVERY time stamp.

3:24] Angelica: Okay guys, I’m not going to explain, the chat name says it all.

[3:24] Angelica: He’s hiding something from us, and I’m positive that it’s a love interest.

[3:25] Angelica: You’ve all seen how happy he looks these days.

[3:25] Eliza: maybe he’s just enjoying life a bit more??

[3:25] Eliza: I doubt he would keep something that big a secret from us…

[3:25] Angelica: You assume the best out of everyone, sister.

[3:26] Angelica: But Alexander has a girlfriend, and you guys are going to help me prove it.

[3:27] Eliza: if Alex does have a girl, and he is hiding it from us, then there must be a reason 

[3:27] Angelica: What reason?!

[3:27] Angelica: What reason would he possibly have to not tell us he has a girlfriend?!

[3:29] PegLeg: wait I just woke up what’s with this new chat

[3:20] Eliza: you just woke up?? It’s like three pm?? Explain??

[3:25] PegLeg: oh

[3:25] PegLeg: long story

[3:25] PegLeg: you high schoolers sure knows how to party ;););)

[3:27] Angelica: Peggy, are you aware of any feelings Alexander might have for someone?

[3:27] Eliza: are we just going to ignore what Pegs just said

[3:27] Angelica: Any intimate feelings?

[3:30] PegLeg: uh

[3:30] PegLeg: ya mean Laurens?

[3:30] Eliza: LAURENS??

[3:30] PegLeg: o H

[3:31] PegLeg: shi t

[3:31] Eliza: WHO IS THIS

[3:31] Eliza: LAURENS 

[3:31] Eliza: YOU SPEAK OF?

[3:40] Angelica: Peggy, you’re being uncharacteristically quiet.

[3:55] Angelica: Peggy.

[4:02] Angelica: Margarita.

[4:23] Eliza: PEGGY I SWEAR

[4:25] PegLeg has left the chat

[4:25] PegLeg has blocked the chat

[4:26] Eliza: PEGGY N O

[4:27] Angelica: What did I tell you, Betsy? Alexander is hiding someone from us.

[4:27] Angelica: Only us. He seems to have trusted our younger sister more.

[4:28] Eliza: but why???

[4:28] Eliza: it doesn’t make sense…

[4:30] Angelica: Tomorrow during lunch, we’ll figure it out. We’ll poke him until he spits out why   
he doesn’t tell us about his new girlfriend.

[4:31] Eliza: we have to be discreet, he can’t know that we know

[4:31] Angelica: Agreed.

[5:06] Aaron Burr: why am I here

[5:08] Angelica: Oh, I forgot I added you.

[5:08] Angelica: Aaron, have you noticed Alexander acting strangely recently?

[5:09] Aaron Burr: now that you mention it…

[5:09] Aaron Burr: he has been strangely interested in the upcoming prom

[5:09] Aaron Burr: he’s been asking about tickets and stuff

[5:10] Eliza: oooh!

[5:10] Eliza: he must want to ask this Laurens girl to prom!

[5:10] Eliza: and he’s afraid of being rejected!

[5:11] Eliza: and since he’s never been interested in someone before, he probably feels embarrassed telling us about it!

[5:12] Aaron Burr: um

[5:12] Angelica: But then why does he go and talk to Peggy about his crush and not his closest friends?

[5:12] Aaron Burr: um

[5:13] Eliza: he’s always confided in Peggy, weirdly enough

[5:13] Aaron Burr: uM

[5:13] Angelica: But who could this girl be?

[5:14] Aaron Burr: U M

[5:14] Eliza: Aaron?

[5:14] Angelica: What is it, Burr?

[5:15] Aaron Burr: I doubt he’s asking a girl to prom, I know for a fact that the only women he talks to are you three.

[5:15] Aaron Burr: Have you thought about any guy he’s especially close to?

[5:16] Eliza: what

[5:16] Aaron Burr: I’m not close friends with him, but I’m sure Alex only talks to Theo aside from you guys.

[5:17] Angelica: What.

[5:17] Aaron Burr: has he shown any interest in some guy you might be close to?

[5:17] Eliza: wh a t

[5:17] Aaron Burr: I’m not sure I understand what you two are asking about…

[5:18] Eliza: HE LIKES GUYS??? WHEN???

[5:18] Angelica: Alexander is the definition of heterosexual, are you telling me he’s into guys too?!

[5:19] Aaron Burr: you didn’t know…?

[5:20] Eliza: NDKANSJSJSNAKSNAJKSNWLAJSLWJKAMAAMKMKKKKSMASALAKSKWKNO N O

[5:20] Eliza: N O

[5:20] Eliza: HE NEVER TOLD US

[5:21] Angelica: Why does Alexander never tell us this?!

[5:21] Eliza: AGGHHHHJjNKnJk

[5:21] Aaron Burr: probably because of how you two react to news like this

[5:21] Eliza: AAKSNSKSHAKSINDNCOWOQPWLQMSMAQLMSWKKSMDKALD

[5:22] Aaron Burr: I’ve made a grave mistake

[5:22] Aaron Burr has left the chat

[5:23] Eliza: AARON

[5:23] Aaron Burr has blocked the chat

[5:23] Eliza: N O 

[5:25] Aaron Burr has unblocked the chat

[5:25] Aaron Burr has joined the chat

[5:26] Aaron Burr: did you say Laurens?

[5:26] Angelica: Do you know him?

[5:26] Aaron Burr: I’ve heard about him

[5:27] Aaron Burr: a model student

[5:27] Eliza: he’s into smart guys??

[5:27] Eliza: but then why does he hate Aaron?

[5:28] Aaron Burr has left the chat

[5:28] Eliza: iM SOR R Y

[5:29] Angelica: I’m calling Peggy.

[5:29] Aaron Burr has joined the chat

[5:30] Aaron Burr: I wonder what Hamilton’s dream guy looks like

[5:30] Eliza: it’s so hard to imagine someone with him…

[5:30] Eliza: what kind of guy does he have to be to drag Alex’s attention from his writing?

[5:31] Aaron Burr: Laurens must be one hell of a guy

[5:31] Eliza: yeah

[5:32] PegLeg has unblocked the chat

[5:32] Eliza: what

[5:32] PegLeg has joined the chat

[5:32] PegLeg: Angelica got me an invite to another high school party, so I’ma tell y’all about John

[5:33] Eliza: YOU WHAT

[5:33] Eliza: ANGELICA

[5:33] Aaron Burr: oh my

[5:33] Angelica: Ignore that comment.

[5:33] Angelica: Who is John Laurens, Peggy?

[5:34] PegLeg: all I know is that he sits at the back of the cafeteria in the far corner

[5:34] PegLeg: he’s Alex’s partner in Biology 

[5:34] PegLeg: and uh

[5:35] PegLeg: Alex wants to go to prom with him

[5:36] PegLeg: uGH I’ve said tOO MUCH

[5:36] PegLeg: I’m out yo

[5:36] PegLeg has left the chat

[5:37] Aaron Burr: your sister is fun

[5:37] Eliza: huh

[5:38] Angelica: That was certainly not worth giving her an invite to the Sunday party.

[5:38] Eliza: WAIT

[5:39] Aaron Burr: I think I know what John looks like

[5:39] Aaron Burr: alright, I have a plan

[5:40] Angelica: What is it?

[5:40] Eliza: HEY

[5:41] Aaron Burr: I’ll look for this guy at lunch and see what’s got Hamilton’s heart racing

[5:41] Angelica: Sounds like a plan!

[5:41] Eliza: DON’T IGNORE ME

[5:42] Angelica: But why don’t you take me with you as well?

[5:42] Aaron Burr: I don’t want you scaring John

[5:42] Aaron Burr: Hamilton is going to ask him to prom, after all

[5:43] Angelica: Fair enough.

[5:43] Eliza: HEY

 

[3:30] Aaron Burr: John seems nice

[3:34] Angelica: You saw him? What did he look like?

[3:34] Eliza: was he cute???

[3:35] Aaron Burr: let’s just say…

[3:35] Aaron Burr: he seems nice

[3:36] Angelica: That’s the best compliment you can get from Burr.

[3:36] Angelica: Alright, that’s it.

[3:37] Angelica: I’m looking for him during lunch.

[3:38] Eliza: that sounds like a bad idea

[3:38] Aaron Burr: I agree

[3:39] Angelica: I’m doing it.

[3:39] Eliza: Angelica nO

[3:40] Aaron Burr: if Hamilton asks, I was never here

[3:40] Aaron Burr has left the chat

 

[3:27] A. Ham has joined the chat

[3:27] A. Ham: what’s up with the chat name

[3:30] Eliza: um

[3:31] Angelica: Peggy told us about your crush on John Laurens.

[3:32] A. Ham: oh

[3:32] A. Ham: well uh

[3:32] A. Ham: good thing I don’t have to explain anymore

[3:33] A. Ham: I want to ask him to prom, but I don’t know what to do, or how to go about it

[3:33] Aaron Burr has joined the chat

[3:34] Eliza: sing to him! You have an amazing singing voice!!

[3:34] Angelica: A dance number! Have the dance team come over during his class and ask him there! It’s so romantic!

[3:35] A. Ham: no

[3:35] A. Ham: to both of those ideas

[3:36] Eliza: you can cut out the grass from the football field to spell out ‘prom?’ aHh that would be so adorable!

[3:36] Angelica: If you don’t want to dance, I’ll do it for you! I’ll even hold up the sign saying ‘Prom?’

[3:37] A. Ham: no

[3:38] A. Ham: you two are surprisingly no help at all

[3:40] Aaron Burr: buy him flowers and ask him during lunch

[3:40] Aaron Burr: simple and effective

[3:41] A. Ham: I like it

[3:42] Eliza: seriously?

[3:43] Angelica: I can’t believe you.

[3:44] Eliza: he’ll never accept!

[3:45] A. Ham: really?!?

[3:46] Aaron Burr: she’s being dramatic, it’ll work and he’ll love it, don’t worry

[3:46] A. Ham: thanks

[3:47] Angelica: So, you’re not dancing?

[3:47] A. Ham: NO

 

[3:42] Angelica: Did anyone see Alexander after lunch? He didn’t show up for the last two classes.

[3:45] A. Ham: I am in love.

[3:45] A. Ham: I am in love and I can’t believe I waited so long for John he’s just sO CUTE I WANT TO SQUISH HIS PRETTY CHEEKS SO BADLY IT HURTS.

[3:50] Eliza: AWWWWWW

[3:51] Eliza: that’s SO CUTE 

[3:52] Angelica: That didn’t answer my question.

[3:53] Aaron Burr: you do not want to know

[3:53] Aaron Burr: trust

[3:55] Eliza: oh

[3:56] A. Ham: yeah, sorry about that, Burr

[3:57] Aaron Burr: I am scarred for life

[3:57] Aaron Burr: I’ll be suing you for

[3:58] Aaron Burr: mental damage

[3:59] A. Ham: you wouldn’t win the lawsuit anyways :p

[4:00] Aaron Burr: excuse me?

[4:00] Aaron Burr: are you saying I lack lawyering skills?

[4:01] A. Ham: no, burr, you’d be a great lawyer

[4:01] A. Ham: I’d just be better

[4:02] Aaron Burr: aGH

[4:02] Aaron Burr has left the chat

 

[10:56] PegLeg has joined the chat

[10:56] PegLeg: yo I know y’all are sleeping but I need a ride 

[10:57] A. Ham: I got you fam 

[10:57] A. Ham: you’re at the party right

[10:58] PegLeg: yeah thnx 

 

[8:03] Eliza: uM EXCUSE ME MISS PEGGY

[8:03] Eliza: WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT

[8:15] PegLeg has left the chat

[8:16] Eliza: WHAT IS THIS ALEX

[8:17] A. Ham has left the chat 

[8:17] Eliza: ANGELICA???

[8:18] Angelica has left the chat 

[8:19] Eliza: how dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DADDY SAID TO BE HOME BY SUNDOWN, PEGGY
> 
>  
> 
> And I will write about what Burr saw, I think that'll be the next chapter. I really didn't expect to write this, the idea popped up in my head I decide to continue this. Hope you enjoy!


	3. The Peggy Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy, being the rebellious little girl, goes out on her first high school party without permission. It kinda sucked, but she did earn a new friend, and gets in on a secret even her sisters aren't aware about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've resurrected! Huzzah! School started again, and brilliant me thought it would be absolutely wonderful to take all honors classes. So, updates will be slower, and I know, I hate when authors say that, but that's just life.
> 
> Also, I lied! This is not, in fact, about what scarred Burr. I'm still writing that one, but I finished this story first, and I figured I'd upload it now. Things to know:
> 
> Peggy is an eighth grader. The Schuyler sisters are rich. Alex is not. This one is set before the last two chapters, when Peggy first meets Alex.
> 
> *whispers* There aren't any time skips in this. Can you believe it? *retreats back into hole in the ground*

“So, what school are you from?” The stranger asks, somewhat yelling over the loud music.

“Oh, you know, a… school. Nearby. You’ve probably never heard of it,” she answers nervously. Since all the windows in the house are closed, the warm air in the room is practically smothering. It doesn’t help that the living room is packed with sweaty teenagers trying to dance (the room was packed, there was more bumping into than dancing).

There was little source of light, save for the red LED lights coming from the DJ’s stand in the corner. The stranger was handsome, at least for a high schooler at some rich kid’s party. They had gone to stand in the hallway leading to the kitchen, where a couple was harshly making out in front of a family photo. She stared at the couple, unsure of whether or not to call them out on what they were doing.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, the stranger says, “I don’t think I caught your name, by the way.”

“Marge,” she replies. “A friend of mine invited me to the party, but I lost her on the way to the drinks… Also, is this like, is there alcohol in this?” She points to her red cup, untouched. “I can’t really tell…”

“Peggy? Is that you?”

She snaps her head towards the sound of Alex, whom she vaguely remembered as a friend of her sisters, and realizes her cover had been blown.

“Uh, sorry. One moment, please,” she tells the handsome stranger, who promptly left after being abandoned.

Alex was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, squinting as if he was trying to figure out whether it was truly her he was seeing.

Peggy had only met him a few times, when he would come over for dinner. Her father had taken a liking to him, and was glad to strike up a conversation with him about politics while they ate. She knew Alex was a cool guy, but now that he’d seen her at this party serving alcohol, she was starting to worry a bit.

“Peggy? What are you doing? Do your sisters know you’re here?” he fusses. She shushes him and throws him into the empty kitchen, planning to somehow convince him to keep quiet.

“Hey… Alex. You, uh, enjoying the party?”

“You’re avoiding my questions.”

She groans. “Dude, please don’t tell my sisters. Don’t tell anyone, please. Look, I’ll leave right now, but they can’t know I’m –”

“It’s okay, I won’t tell.”

She paused. “Wait, really? You… you’re not going to tell anyone?” He shakes his head, smiling slightly.

“I mean, what good would it do? I didn’t call you to rat you out, I just wanted to know what you were doing here.” He pulls up a stool from the counter, and pats the one next to him. “So, what’s up kid? How’d you find out about the party?”

She takes a seat and sighs, relieved by Alex’s promise. “Angelica got an invite, and I uh, kinda… left without telling her?”

Alex hums. “Let me guess: your sisters never let you go to parties.”

“ _Never_!” She yells. “They always treat me like a kid! And they always say ‘ _young ladies don’t waste their time meddling with events like those_ ’,” she says in a mocking tone, “but they get to go and do whatever they want just ‘cause they’re older than me.” She huffs out her rant, grunting like a child who just lost their candy.

Alex gives her a sympathetic look. “Man, you rich people, always trying to live up to expectations. Eliza always tells me about social etiquette and blah blah blah. They don’t ever have fun.”

“Exactly! Which means _I_ can’t have fun. So, I’m just being a rebel and got in to parties without permission. Of course, Eliza would kill me if she found out. She’d probably bury me in my room.”

“Tell you what,” Alex says, almost as if sharing a secret, “If you won’t tell her I’m here, I won’t tell her you’re here. I’d rather not have Eliza and Angelica know about this.”

Peggy raises her brow. “Why not?”

“Well…” Alex starts, before a loud half-laugh-half-giggle turns their heads towards the origin of the noise. Alex snaps his head so fast, his face goes red. However, Peggy realizes, that was not the reason why he became so flustered.

She starts putting two and two together, before reaching a wonderful discovery. “Who was that?”

“Oh,” Alex answers, “how would I know? It could be anybody’s – wait what are you doing? Where are you – Peggy no!” She hops off the stool and rushes towards living room, where, sitting on the couch, are three guys around Alex’s age. He tried to catch up to her before she could see, but it was too late.

“So, which one is it?” She smirks knowingly, giving Alex a little nudge with her elbow.

“The one in the middle,” he admits, the blush making a comeback on his face. “Way out of my league, right?”

Peggy whistles. “I don’t know, you two would look good together.” Alex smiles at the comment. “Besides,” she adds, “he looks like he’s kinda into you.”

Alex chuckles and gives her a skeptical look. “And how can you tell that exactly?”

“Because he’s looking at you like you’re one hot tamale.”

Alex does a swift 180 to find the the guy in the middle smiling brightly at him. The guy quickly excuses himself from his friends, who payed him no mind, and walked towards Alex. His puffy hair bounced happily as he practically skipped over to him and Peggy.

Alex found his hair to suddenly be very interesting, so she did him a favor and shoved him into the curly haired guy.

“Woah - Uh ah! Ahh, uh, oh, John!” Alex spits out incomprehensible noises once he bumps into John. Peggy groans.

“Alex! I-it’s good to see you! I, uh, didn’t know you were coming tonight!” The loud music was almost deafening, but John’s nervous voice could be heard clearly.

“Well, yeah, _you kinda weren’t supposed to know…_ ” Alex whispers harshly at Peggy. She smiles apologetically to him.

“What?” John seems confused, but he dismisses the unheard comment rather quickly once he spots Peggy standing next to Alex. “You… didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”

Shit.

“Oh! No, no! This is just a friend of mine! Yeah, no, this is…” Alex fiddles around with his fingers before Peggy decides to save the night.

“I’m Peggy Schuyler; just a friend of a friend. And you’re John? A pleasure to meet you.” Peggy slightly bows to amuse John and to prove she’s not involved with Alex intimately. John laughs, visibly relieved.

“Peggy Schuyler? Aren’t you in like, middle school?”

Alex and Peggy turn and stare at each other.

“Shit,” she mutters under her breath.

“You wouldn’t mind about keeping quiet about her being here, would you John?” Alex asks, patting her shoulder lightly. “She’s just… here to have fun. Wouldn’t want to ruin her night.”

“Oh, of course! I mean, who would I tell, I don’t have many friends…” John says awkwardly. Again, Peggy nudges Alex, signifying that it’d be a good moment to say something.

“What? You’re one of the coolest guys I know! I’d imagine you’d be super popular!”

“ _Nice save_ ,” Peggy whispers.

John looks down. “No, I only have a couple close friends, a-and you.” He pauses, and although the red LED lights may be creating some sort of illusion, Peggy swears he’s blushing. “I don’t know, I guess I’m a bit reserved for some people. I’m way too awkward…” he trails off.

“But that’s what makes you so cute!”

Okay, a bit too much, Peggy thought, until she saw John’s obvious blush splattered all over his cheeks and neck, and the huge smile he wore. To be honest, she’d never seen anyone so flattered.

“No, seriously!” Alex continues. “Besides, you’re not awkward. You’re adorable, and smart, and _way_ cooler than all the people at this party.” Peggy clears her throat. “Okay, cooler than most people at this party.”

Peggy might be the least recognizable from her sisters, and because of that, she might be left out a lot, but there was no way in hell she was going to third wheel on her first high school party. “Ya know, I can tell where I’m not wanted. You two can continue your flirting – ,” she fakes a cough, “ _I mean_ , your friendly conversation. I’ll just be over there by the TV.”

She’s about to take a sip from the red cup in her hands, but Alex quickly snatches it away before it reaches her lips. “Ah ah ah. No alcohol for you, missy. Sorry, but you’re just too young, Peggy.” Peggy deflates, and John tries to console her by going over to the snack table and bringing her a cup of cheap soda. She takes it, albeit a teensy bit angry.

Alex instead hands her drink to John, and they start to talk about schoolwork or something. Peggy doesn’t know, she became bored with their conversation and ran off after a cute guy standing by the dining room. She was having fun, but honestly, the guy reeked of beer, and she had a feeling she would regret it if she continued to talk with a drunk guy, so she went about the party in search of another attractive face.

Throughout the night, she’d met with eight different guys. One of them started asking way too many questions, another one came up to her and straight up asked her for sex (she humphed like a stuck up rich girl and walked away elegantly), and the only two guys who actually seemed like decent people turned out to be gay.

All in all, an embarrassing night.

And Peggy could not drown her embarrassment in alcohol.

Instead, she decides to call it a day and head back before she gets caught. Even if she did arrive at a high school party alone, with no supervision or plan to get home, she isn’t completely irresponsible. She goes back to search for Alex, hoping he’ll give her a ride.

She finally finds him talking animatedly to John, who’s staring at him with lovesick eyes. She feels bad about interrupting them; they seem to be having such a great time. But, she argues to herself that since she didn’t have such a great time, neither can they. Fair enough.

The two are sitting on the battered couch, each on the opposite ends.

She assumes they’re just not ready for that step yet.

She quickly walks toward them and sits in the middle of the couch, bringing their attention to her. “Hey, how’s it goin’?”

“Actually pretty well until you decide to make your presence known,” Alex snarks. John, who snapped out of his gaze, looks at his phone only to be greeted with a jumble of text messages.

“Oh,” he says simply. He read the messages quickly, scrolling through for far too long. One of the pop songs blasting from the stereos ended just as he looked up to address them. “Sorry, my friends are kinda worried about me.” ‘Kinda’ was an understatement. “I think I have to go now. It was nice to see you, Alex. And a pleasure to meet you, Peggy,” he says, mimicking her words and bowing the way she had done.

They said their goodbyes, and as John fought his way through the crowd of rowdy teenagers, Peggy notices Alex smiling a mile a minute. “You were pretty smooth with him,” she comments. “Why were you so afraid to go up to him earlier?”

Alex shrugs, his jacket that he’d been wearing when she first saw him now wrapped around his waist. Now that she noticed it, the house was pretty hot, even though it was after midnight.

“I met him in my biology class, we actually sit next to each other. And, see, in class, I can talk to him all I want without worrying about whether I’m overstepping my boundaries, because I’m, you know, his partner. But I feel like,” Alex struggles with his words (something, that Peggy later learns, is rare), “I feel like if I talk to him outside of class, I won’t be able to stop. I mean, you just saw right now, I talked to him nonstop and it’s already,” he checks his phone, “…3:19 am.” He looks up quickly. “Holy shit, we need to get you home.”

He grabs her hand and leads Peggy out of the house, into the quiet road. John is nowhere in sight, but Alex’s worn out car is right in the no parking zone. “Cmon, I’ll take you home.”

The ride, for the most part is quiet, save for Peggy’s remarks on Alex’s choice of vehicles. It’s a pretty heated argument before they cool down and resume their quiet trip.

Alex ends up being the one to break the silence. “I’m going ask him to prom, you know.”

She looks up at him, bewildered by the announcement. “For real? You’re gonna ask him?” Alex nods. “Anybody know about it?”

He scoffs. “They don’t even know about Laurens. Can you keep it a secret?”

“Hmm. Can’t promise anything,” she admits. “Besides, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want anyone to know about him.”

“Think about it, Peggy. John’s a shy little gumball; imagine what he’d think if he met a friend of mine like Eliza or,” he cringes slightly, “if he meets Angelica.”

“ _Yeesh_.” Even Peggy cringes. “Good point, but I don’t think he’d hate you if he found out you have crazy friends. I mean, he loved me, right?” Alex chuckles, and they have a good laugh before they reach the Schuyler house.

“I have no idea how you’re planning on getting back inside that fortress, but this is where I stop,” he jokes. He pulls up the car near the huge gate, and Peggy jumps out. “Good night!... Or morning, I should say.”

“Good morning to you as well,” she says, before walking quietly under a small hole in the gate. She takes off her boots so that they don’t make any noise when she climbs the window into her room. There was a bench tall enough to get her to reach the balcony, where she swung her arms to grab onto the following balcony. She stumbled on her landing, but fortunately, she didn’t make a scene. Swiftly, she opens the window and crawls into the dark room, where she spends the rest of her night texting her middle school friends about all the cute guys she met that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody corrected me that biology is not a class commonly taken by seniors, and it sort of slipped my mind while I was writing. Whoops.
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a chapter where they just flirt for the entire class? Maybe a Washington cameo? All I can confirm is that Peggy will need her own character tag now.
> 
> Also, I'd imagine that every time Peggy saw Alex with John, she'd make a Lenny face. Just to let you know.


	4. Spying on Alexander Hamilton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hercules Mulligan's greatest skill can now be put to good use. At least, that's what he thought at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so short it hurts....
> 
>  
> 
> ...That's why I'm doing a double update.
> 
> Things to note: Takes place a few days after Alex asks John out to prom. And Hercules is just trying to be a good friend, but he goes too far sometimes. Lafayette knows what's up, though.

Lafayette dropped onto his bed dramatically, releasing a long sigh. He held up the phone closer to his ear to catch what Hercules was telling him.

“Plus, I heard the guy’s already been accepted to three Ivy Leagues. Three! How the fuck did he do that?”

“I don’t know,” Lafayette lazily replied, “Sounds like an amazing feat.”

Hercules lets out an exasperated sound. “That’s not the point, Laf. This ain’t some typical valedictorian student – this is a fucking maniac in a trench coat! How have we never heard about this guy before?”

“John knew him.”

“He only met him this year,” Hercules explains.

Lafayette closes his eyes. “Mm, you do not know that. Maybe they go way back. Perhaps John knew about him and just wanted to keep him for himself.”

Hercules ignores the last comment. “But wait till you hear this.” His voice almost goes down to a whisper. “He’s never banged. With any girl. Not from our school, not from one in the district. Can you believe it… John’s going out with a virgin.”

That almost wakes Lafayette up. “How did you even come to find out about this?”

“Social media. You’d be surprised the shit you can dig up on people.”

“And what if none of it is true? What if… none of it...,” he leaves the words hanging in the air.

“You better not be sleeping on me, Laf. This is big news!”

“Yes, well,” he yawns, “I’m sure I’ll regret dozing off to your CIS investigation results in the morning. For now, though, _let me sleep_.”

He hung up.

 

 

“He _what_?!”

“You heard me,” Hercules continues excitedly, “five girls. All in one night.”

Lafayette shakes his head. “But yesterday, you had said…”

“Yeah, well, things have changed.” Hercules spots John at the school’s entrance, leaning on a nearby tree, staring intensely at his phone. He pulls Lafayette towards him quickly, almost putting him out of balance. “Can’t believe this is how John has to find out, though.”

They’re close enough that John was able to hear the last part of their conversation, and he quirks his head up to greet them. Hercules notices the way he hides the screen of his phone by pushing it into his chest. “Find out about what?”

“Your date’s a ho.”

John stares blankly.

“What.”

Lafayette facepalms so hard, the slap can be heard by the flow of students entering the school building. “Do not be so crude. And please, stop with this nonsense, I’m sure John’s date is all he appears to be.”

John raises his eyebrows. Lafayette explains, “Hercules thought it necessary to do background checks on your Alexander-”

“It’s the bro code!” Hercules interrupts. “I gotta look out for you, make sure everything checks out.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what the bro code means,” John laughs. “Since you’re my friend, I’ll amuse you. So what’d you find?”

Hercules shoves his own phone in John’s face. “Check this: ‘Alexander Hamilton, age 15, arranged to accept the Scholar Ferad Award.’ First of all, that’s a prestigious award. Second, did you take a look at this? _Age 15_. You sure you’re going out with a senior?”

Lafayette smacks him.

John smiles at them. “Alex is really ambitious. And about the age thing, you might want to check the dates on those posts.” He points at the publishing date, revealing it to be years before.

“Oh,” Hercules says. “Well, hold up. I got another thing to show you.” John rolls his eyes, and Lafayette takes a seat at the bottom of the tree, seeing that they would be there for a while.

Hercules’s phone displays a handful of text screenshots, the names of the people in the conversation blurred out. “Someone got a hold of these bad boys, and my sources are saying that the people in the convo were that guy you’re going to prom with and some rich white chick.”

“…His name is Alex,” John reminds him.

“What sources?” Lafayette asks, though his question goes ignored. He takes out a book to read.

Hercules clears his throat. “’The other girls don’t have anything on you, take it from me.’ Then the next one says, ‘if only people would appreciate your beauty the way I could last night,’ now that’s suggestive, and then the other person responds, ‘you were really loud-‘”

John smacks the phone out of his hand. “Who sent that to you?” He was blushing madly, but Hercules was so caught up in his investigation that he didn’t take note. Lafayette, however, was laughing his ass off.

“Aaron Burr. I think he hates your date. Or mildly tolerates him. Come to think of it, I never asked him how he found these…”

John wasn’t listening. He deleted the screenshots from Hercules’s photo album and made a mental note to confront Burr about this. _I thought we agreed he’d never talk about this_ …

“So?” Hercules finally asked. “What do you think?”

All was quiet, until the bell signaling the start of class rung. John shoved the phone back to Hercules and tried rubbing the warmth away from his cheeks. “I think you need a new hobby.” He slowly walks away, disappearing into the building.

Lafayette jumped up behind Hercules. “I don’t get it,” Hercules starts. “Wasn’t that supposed to, like, incriminate his date? That looked suspicious as fuck, didn’t it?”

“Ah, young one.” Lafayette shakes his head. “One day, you will understand.”

Really, it only took him about a couple classes before he made the connection that those screenshots were actually of John and Alex’s conversation, and that John was flustered because how obviously dirty those messages appeared.

“What the fuck,” Hercules suddenly says in the middle of a silent lecture. The teacher quickly shushes him. “It’s always the quiet ones that are the kinkiest,” he whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex and John did not actually diggity do the banging. The birds and the bees. They did not.
> 
> Sorry.


	5. The Time Alex Realized He Had a Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander was confident, sure. But the only reason he didn't completely back out of asking the beautiful John Laurens to prom was because of a certain situation a few months ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to note: The placement of this chapter is actually a bit ambiguous. It's definitely before Alex asks John to prom, but I can't decide on where this is in regards to Peggy Party. Also, there's some mad fluff in this.
> 
> And thank you to the readers for your patience! If it in anyway explains, I had to force myself to finish writing this for the double update you deserve. I skipped homework too. And I'm a good student, I swear.
> 
> Worth it.

“Just, I don’t know, we could place the glitter at the bottom? And then – oh, but where do we write out names…” Alex was struggling. He held the bottle of blue glitter in one hand, and pointed at the poster board with the other. “Do you think if we just sprinkle it around the text, it would be visible?”

John considered it. “I don’t know, it’ll look a bit tacky. Maybe… How about we decorate it as a pattern? Like,” he grabbed the bottle, slightly brushing over Alex’s hand, and dumped a bit onto his own palm. He took a pinch and dropped it on the poster board, then fixed the glitter into a box shape with his finger. “There. Like that? Or… you know what, that looks dumb, I’m sorry –”

Before John could sweep the glitter back into the bottle, Alex caught his hand. “No, no, that looks good! We’ll do that instead. I mean, it was _my_ fault for suggesting we use glitter. But hey, don’t look at me like that, I’m still a five year old at heart.”

John giggles, and – _oh, that sweet sound, it’s wonderful_ – he takes a look at Alex’s hand still holding his wrist. He stares at it incredulously, as if the sight was one he’d never laid his eyes on before. Alex hopes, prays he’s not overstepping his boundaries, but his heart drops to his stomach once John awkwardly pulls away, holding his entire arm, as if the touch stung to the bone.

_Stupid_ – he thinks – _that was way too long_. He dedicates the next couple minutes silently cursing himself for making John uncomfortable.

“So… are we going to start pasting now?” John’s shy voice pulls Alex out of his self-degradation.

“Oh, sure. Yeah.”

The gentle piano playing on John’s phone fills in the silence. Alex scuffles to the counter to grab their earlier printed out papers to paste onto the board. He’d been invited to John’s house to put the finishing details on their bio presentation. They’d gone all out this time, even creating a 3D model of the organism and making little stands for the different sections. (It was Alex’s idea, and it took them an extra month to build it, but their project came out so good that John couldn’t really stay mad at him.)

While Fur Elise echoed throughout John’s living room, they sprawled out on the floor and got to work. Of course, they were in no rush; as usual, their project would be completed early, thanks to their cooperation. It was new to Alex, having someone to work with that didn’t irritate him to no end (Burr). There are even times where John would outsmart him, and if Alex didn’t think he was hot enough…

At first, he had to admit, John did not stand out to him as an exceptional student. Some people just gave off that kind of vibe, of ‘I cannot do anything extraordinary’. John never talked, never spoke out, never did anything to attract attention.

And yet, Alex can still remember the first day of senior class. He can remember when a shy kid, one he’d seen somewhere on campus before, sat in the seat next to him, an air of nervousness around him, and spoke. “ _Hi_.”

He can remember taking in the sight of an impossible number of freckles adorning the soft cheeks of the boy. Bright eyes stared at him; Alex can remember the feeling of losing himself in them. John had worn a wriggly smile, but his dimples lit up the whole room. It had taken Alex a few seconds to respond coherently, and even then he could only muster a squeaky greeting.

That fact that John was an absolute genius did not help. Cute _and_ smart? Alex could tell he was falling, and he was falling hard.

Everyday brought back the mental debate of whether being John’s bio partner was the best or worst thing to ever happen to him. On one hand, being able to sit daily with a majestic being left Alex high in the clouds. On the other hand, rejections like the one that just occurred happen too often for his liking. When would he admit his true feeling for John? Would he ever? There was only one year left in their high school experience and Alex doubts they’ll end up going to the same college. These final months will be his last chance at being with John. He can’t lose this opportunity.

“Alex?”

John is on his knees, reaching for the bottom edges of the poster board, but he noticed Alex’s hesitation. He’s staring at him with those eyes again, and his face is so close, Alex has to force himself to look away before he does something he might regret.

“Is there something on your mind?”

“No, I’m alright.” He’s decided. He’s going to do something about this crush. He’s not going to allow John to disappear from his life.

“What were you thinking about?” _I was thinking about kissing you so that you could stop asking me so many questions._

“Eh, I’ve got this… paper that I haven’t turned in yet. It’s uh, a bit more challenging.” Well, that was a terrible lie.

John scoffed teasingly. “Am I hearing right? Alexander Hamilton is having trouble writing?” He laughs, leaning closer from his spot on the floor towards Alex’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You always do.”

And then there are moments like these when Alex begins to wonder if this crush thing isn’t totally one sided. Here is John, practically invading his personal space, and batting his eyelashes at him, as if trying to flirt with Alex.

If he was trying to flirt, it was sure as hell working.

“Thanks,” he replies, a little late, dazzled by the way John’s cheeks heat up at how low his voice sounded. “You’re always a good friend.”

And just like that, the moment is over. John slowly pulls away and proceeds to work on the poster board. There’s no lingering sensation of what just occurred, John’s face is unreadable, but his smile is gone. For the second time today, Alex fucked things up. He’s so stupid.

 

 

“We based the layout of our model on the experiments we conducted with the samples. Each section of the organism’s body, from the cells, to its nervous system, are represented here. For example, if you take a look at…,” Alex pauses. He looks at John, sitting on the couch next to him, seemingly lost in thought. It wouldn’t have been much of a bother if it wasn’t for the fact that he wore a melancholy expression, one that, Alex concluded, did not fit John at all.

Apparently, John was so lost in thought that he hasn’t noticed Alex interrupting his speaking. He gives him a little nudge on the shoulder to pull him back to reality. John, not shaking off the sadness in his face, nods questioningly at him.

“Now you’re the one acting strange. What’s up?” he asks. John’s notes for his part of the presentation lay untouched on their side. Alex notices this and takes a wild guess. “You nervous?”

John shrugs, and then gives in and nods his head, embarrassed. “Kinda. I mean, not for anything you did, it’s just… kind of hard for me to talk in front of a crowd.”

Alex wants to coo at how adorable Embarrassed John looks. _Not the time, Alex_. “I’m sure you’ll do alright. Look, I’ll even take up most of the speaking time for you. How’s that sound?”

He shrugs again, but Alex is disappointed to see him still unhappy.

“You look cuter when you smile, John.”

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats.

The silence is unbearable.

He registers that the beats are actually his heart, steadily increasing every passing second.

_You fucked things up again, Hamilton. You idiot, you made the situation even worse, what were you thinking_ –

John lets out a strangled laugh, so high that Alex barely realizes that it was John that made that noise.

His face is flaming hot, he’s covering his cheeks with his hands, and he’s blabbering incomprehensible words, but what Alex pays attention to the most is that his smile is back.

_Wonderful_.

“Alex,” John says between giggles, “ _oh my god_ , Alex.” He’s snorting now, unable to hold back the laughter. He tries clearing his throat to address Alex, who is completely perplexed as to why John found that so funny.

“It’s just… aha, you have no idea… how flattering it is for you to say that.”

“…”

“…You think I’m _cute_ ,” John finishes. He looks so pleased by Alex’s comment, judging by the width of his smile.

Alex, however, is still confused as fuck.

John sighs. “Never mind, I’m being weird. Forget about it.” He says this in a light tone, and adds another radiant smile at the end to assure Alex that he’s in a good mood. “I’ll take you up on that offer, though. I-I’m still nervous about having to speak but, I think I’ll manage.”

_What?_

“Do you mind if I practice my part now? I still don’t have it memorized…”

For the next half hour, everything John says goes in one ear and comes out the other. Alex isn’t sure what he did, or why it happened, or _why the hell John didn’t kill him on the spot for saying something so dumb._

Alex likes to think that he’s smart. And for good reason; he’s on his way to a full ride scholarship, it’s almost assured that he’ll be valedictorian (much to Burr’s dispair), and one can’t forget to mention the numerous awards and recognitions he’s received the past four years. But, contrary to popular belief, he’s a fucking moron.

Because only a fucking moron takes an entire _semester_ to realize the guy he’s been crushing on has repeatedly hinted at the fact that the feeling is mutual.

What a dumbass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* Did you notice how hard I tried to make sure I never wrote Alex will "not throw away his shot"? Even the chapter title... *returns to home in the trash can*


	6. May I Have This Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not many people know, and not many people are told, but John Laurens secretly loves dancing. Especially when he gets to watch his date fail at it terribly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late? Me? Pssh, sure.
> 
> Okay but seriously I'm terribly sorry that this took so long and that it's. So. Short. I had to rewrite this because I was not content with the first draft, and once I finished this one, it turned out so much shorter.
> 
> This is placed after Alex asks John out to prom.
> 
> Also, my knowledge of dancing is limited to the time I had Just Dance on my Wii when I was, like, twelve. Hopefully Google didn't fail me.

John had always tried to hide his family wealth from Alex. After he had discovered Alex’s humble origins and harsh childhood, he’d felt privileged. He was afraid Alex would make fun of him, or worse, despise him for being rich. It turned out though, he had nothing to worry about.

Of course, the revelation of Alex’s friends came as a surprise; they were all incredibly wealthy. The again, 98% of the school’s population was of high income families. The point still stands.

There are some things, though, just some small things that clearly depict the huge line between his and Alex’s worlds.

“You dance?” He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Well, when I was young,” John started nervously, “my… dad had me learn these intricate dances. So he hired a couple of famous dance teachers for about two years. Oh, actually, he wanted me to learn ballet, ballroom, merengue was weird, and I didn’t like it at first but jive really grew on me…”

Alex bursts into a fit of giggles, startling John. Did he think it was dumb or something? _Oh god_ , John thinks, _he’s laughing at me, he must think I’m some rich undeserving white kid douche_ —

“I’m sorry,” Alex wheezes, “I just imagined a miniature you dancing in a pink tutu.”

John blinked. “Oh.”

Alex readjusts himself on the couch. “But, well, going back to what we were talking about, I don’t think you need to fret. I bet about, let me do the math, ninety percent of the people attending the dance are probably going to stand and occasionally move their shoulders.”

“Well that’s not dancing,” John snorts, pointing out the obvious. He assumed that, because prom was supposed to be a formal type of dance, there’d be a lot of expectation to impress. Thinking about now, it’s probably not going to be as elegant. Shrugging, he turns back to the slices of oranges he was cutting, and realizes that in his moment of doubt just a few seconds ago, he had squeezed out its juices onto the floor. “And what about you?” he asks, going around the couch to grab a dirty mop.

“Huh?”

“Do you know how to dance?”

Alex, shameful, shakes his head. “I’m sure you’re great at it, but, between studying my ass off and fighting with Burr over whether New York should have been the capitol, I never really thought about dancing. Like, at all.”

And while John mopped up the floor (poorly), the prospect of Alex not being able to dance suddenly sparked a lightbulb over his head.

“I can teach you!”

Now it was Alex’s turn to blink. “… Teach me?”

John rolls his eyes, as if the answer was more obvious than the freckles on his face. “Teach you to dance! So you won’t feel so down about it when we go to prom.”

“I wasn’t really bothered by it —”

John snaps his fingers. “I know! I’ll bring the stereo, we can move the couch a bit to create a small space, and hopefully you won’t mind the coffee table, I have nowhere else to move it…” He goes off into his own world, too caught up in it to see Alex’s endeared expression.

A few minutes later, they’re standing in the middle of the room, the orange slices in the kitchen long forgotten by now, though the flies have a taste here and there. John opens up his playlist, and the first song that appears is _Thinking Out Loud._ It has a peaceful rhythm to it, perfect for the first lesson John had in mind.

Alex, who had been awkwardly twirling his shoe on the carpet, seemed very started when John boldly placed his arms over his shoulders. “Uh, what are you…”

“And then you,” John starts, pulling Alex’s outstretched arms, “put these,” he places them on his hips, “right here. And don’t move them.”

“Um, uh, o-okay.”

John smiles. “We’ll start slow. The most basic move in dance is a step touch. What you want to do is start with your legs spread the slightest bit – Alex, stop being immature, I can see why you’re laughing – and when you move your leg, your other foot will join it. So that’s just the easiest part. If you want to turn a bit, well, you need to make sure your partner gets the message and turns with you, or else you’ll butt heads and ruin the flow...”

And so, for the next hour, John happily taught Alex how to move without tripping over his own feet, how to properly decide when to use certain moves depending on the tone of the song, and, interestingly enough, how to twirl.

John had laughed. “Why that, out of any other move?”

Alex shrugged. “Why not? I always see those professionals do it to get extra points on Dancing with the Stars. Seems easy enough, I don’t see why you should prevent me, a responsible and well behaved student for the past fifty five minutes, from learning to my fullest extent –”

“Okay, okay!” John giggled. “I’ll show you your stupid twirl.” He repositioned his arms on Alex’s shoulders.

Alex chuckled and put his hand up as a sign to retract. “Wait wait wait,” he said, buying time to recollect himself. “Y-you actually know how to twirl?”

“My teachers were… very thorough…,” he replied, embarrassed. The stereo was quietly playing _Obsesion_ , matching Alex’s silly tone. He had wondered how he wanted to do this, after all, a twirl could be used in a different number of ways, all depending on the type of dance they would start with. He decided to go with bachata, it was his mother’s favorite dance.

“Okay. I’m going to be leading you this time, so I want you to hold my hand –”

“Always a pleasure.”

“— a-and place it up to your chest,” he finished, blushing. “No, higher.”

“Like this?” He held up their intertwined fingers right in front of his chest. John shook his head.

“How are you supposed to twirl someone if their hands are bumping into you? You need to put them outwards, like this.” He pulled them out, his arm graceful and in a perfect ‘L’ shape, while Alex’s arm looked like a crooked stick. John sighed, and reminded himself that he couldn’t magically teach Alex how to properly dance in one day.

Alex had sighed as well. “I suck at this, don’t I? It’s okay, I get it if you wanna stop here. I’m not worth your effort.”

But John stood his ground. “I’m doing this because it’s fun, Alex. It’s fun to be with you.” And so he returned his hand in Alex’s and resumed the lesson.

“Let’s do the one I showed you before, where you move your hips as you step.” They had started dancing in unison, although Alex had difficulties matching his pace with the song. He really did have two left feet.

“Okay, so I can’t just start twirling you out of nowhere and expect you to follow out of the blue, right?” Alex nodded his head. “So when I hold up you hand,” he demonstrated, “that means I want to twirl you. What you have to do is bend your arm and let your palm touch mine so that when you make the turn — no, Alex, what are you doing…?”

“Oh, sorry! I thought you wanted me to go to the left…” Alex’s face was burning, but John had known better than to laugh at him for that. Instead, he offered a sympathetic smile.

“Remember, I’m the one leading right now, so you have to follow what I tell you, okay?” John let his voice soften, resembling the kind that one would have used when talking to a child.

“Yes, Mr.Laurens, whatever you say, Mr.Laurens,” Alex had sung jokingly.

John smiled more. “Alright. I’m turning you to the right, m’kay? And… turn.” The twirl had gone smoothly, and even more, Alex resumed the dance immediately after they reconnected their hands.

“You’re getting the hang of this.”

“I do have the best teacher,” he had responded. John playfully punched him.

“Let’s do it again.” A few minutes later, Alex had mastered the dance, or as well as one could master in an hour and a half. Seeing that they had been progressing, and that he was the one leading, John had another brilliant idea.

He had held up their hands, signaling to Alex that he was about to twirl, but instead grabbed his back, pushed his chest forward, and caught him in a dip.

“W-woah!” Alex cried out, surprised by his loss of balance. “John, what are you —”

“Chill out, I’m not gonna drop you! You trust me, don’t you?” he asked, knowing fully well that Alex would trust him with his life.

He smiled from above him and stared at the brown, electric eyes that had captivated him the moment he first saw them. To John, the first day they met felt like years ago, a distant memory. He was so happy to be able to share this dance with his crush, it was easy for him to miss how entranced Alex had been during those few seconds he was dipped, as if he was his only joy in the world.

Two hours later (they took a break to clean up those oranges, which had made a mess of the counter), John retired his leading role and allowed Alex to move him about as they slow danced. _Versace on the Floor_ echoed in the still room, the dimming sunlight from outside entering through the windows.

Alex, who has his arm wrapped around John’s hip, and John’s head positioned snugly onto his chest, interrupts the song to ask a question. “Hey, John?”

“Hmm?” John almost fell asleep dancing so rhythmically with Alex.

“This is kinda weird.”

Now John is fully awake. “What?”

Alex realizes his mistake pretty quickly. “Oh, no! No, sorry, geez, that didn’t come out so well. I meant weird as in, different. Usually you’re so quiet and shy, and… I just, can’t believe you’re actually willing to dance _in public_ with me. Aren’t you even a little bit nervous about this?”

John looks up. “Are you kidding? I’m terrified.”

“…What?”

He sighs, as if Alex is asking a redundant question. “Of course I’m nervous, everyone is going to be looking at us, and judging us, and… laughing at us and...” He trails off, suddenly feeling very self conscious. Alex taps his hip to try and bring him back to the conversation. “…But, honestly, it’s because I’m dancing _with you_ in public, that I’m willing to forget about my nerves, just for a while.”

He yelps as Alex brings his chin up to connect their lips. It’s slow, it’s short, but it conveys to John exactly what Alex wanted him to know without the use of words.

_You’re killing me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs mentioned:  
> \- Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran  
> \- Obsesion by Aventura  
> \- Versace on the Floor by Bruno Mars
> 
> P.S. Funny how John almost immediately decided he would teach Alex to lead a dance. And yes, John's father wasn't actually terrible in this. It's a miracle.
> 
> P.P.S. Expect an update sooooooooooooooooon *falls into the miserable pit I call home*


	7. Burr's Big Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron chuckles. “Of course not. Alexander is crass and immature, among other negative adjectives, but I doubt he-”
> 
> Buzz buzz.
> 
> “What in the – one moment, Ms. Peggy, someone just texted me,” Aaron says as he pulls his phone back to view the glowing screen.
> 
> “Of course,” she answers politely. He reads the message that, in retrospect, didn’t sound so bad until he saw the image attached to it. It’s a picture sent by John, a picture of John, and the text ‘is this what you wanted?’
> 
> “I take that back.” He regretted opening the message in the first place, of thinking it wise to take a look at the text from John that was obviously intended to be sent to Alex, he should have left it at that and he would have been spared, oh no –

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever read or written anything that has somehow given you second hand embarrassment? Well, this happened while writing the chapter, which honestly should have been up since the beginning of the story. I just didn't want it to be unbearably embarrassing, so I had to delete things here and there. No worries! The story still holds the fundamental idea I had for it.
> 
> Other than that: this is placed a few hours after Alex asked John to prom.
> 
> And looking at it now, this story has a huge plot hole, so if you notice it just pretend it doesn't exist. That's what I do when I look at my homework assignments.

It was a calm day for Aaron Burr. He woke up for the first time in weeks without pain in his neck from knocking out on his work desk. He was pleased to open the cupboard and find the jar of honey with just enough of that sweet, sticky goodness to spread on his breakfast toast. He had come home from class, and had just received his grade for a recent test he’d had some trouble on before; he had passed with flying colors. Not to mention, the sun brightly filled his home with warmth as he sipped his coffee mug in peace.

That is, until he saw the messages.  
  
The slight buzz of his smart phone pulled him out of the crossword puzzle he was completing. The text showed it to be from Alexander, so he correctly decided to ignore it.

But he recalled that Alex was still in class, and it was rare for him to be distracted in his studies.

Another buzz.

He begrudgingly placed his mug on the table, slamming it so hard a bit of the steaming coffee dripped out and scalded his fingers. “ _Ow_.” He sucks on his fingers to try and relieve the pain while his left hand stretches out to grab his phone and send Alex a million curses for somehow inadvertently ruining his good day.

“Why in heavens do I have your contact information again? I can’t believe I’m even going to answer you, I was in such a good mood, but no, you just have to message me in the middle of the day. God, I swear if you’re still rambling about Laurens, just like yesterday, you wouldn’t shut up at night and I was kind enough to stay up to listen to you and how do I get repaid? With this shit.”

[1:58 p.m.] A. Ham: I wouldn’t worry

[1:58 p.m.] A. Ham: Maybe it’s not enough for you to hear it from me but

[1:59 p.m.] A. Ham: what you’ve got under there is way better than any girl I’ve been with

…What?

Aaron rereads the two texts. He blinks.

[2:00 p.m.] Wait

[2:00 p.m.] Shit

[2:01 p.m.] I thought I was talking to John fuck

And then proceeds to break out into laughter.

A small bird sitting on the kitchen windowsill quickly flies out, scared off by the loud wheezing from the person inside. Aaron held his stomach tightly, bending over and trying (failing) to regain himself. The burn on his fingers now forgotten, he quickly screenshots their conversation in case he ever needs to blackmail Alex again.

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, but then back to the booth in a fast food restaurant Alex was sitting in, there was a room full of people turning their heads to the squawking of the high school student.

“If Aaron Burr thinks he can use that shit against me, he’ll be sorry…!” Alex curses under his breath. He stares up to the people watching him, alone with a large order of fries in his booth, and throws them an annoyed eye roll before returning to his phone.

[2:02 p.m.] I’ve just made a grave mistake

[2:02 p.m.] John <3: Did you order the spicy chicken burger instead of the normal one

[2:02 p.m.] John <3: Rookie move

[2:03 p.m.] John please I love you but this is a serious matter

[2:03 p.m.] I just sent something to Burr that I was supposed to send to you and it’s completely out of context he’s read the message but he hasn’t responded oh god what have I done

[2:04 p.m.] John <3: I’m sure Aaron would understand, he’s very considerate

[2:04 p.m.] Are we talking to about the same guy here?

[2:05 p.m.] Well, he may be considerate to you, because you my dear are worthy of such treatment, but Burr is the least considerate person I’ve met

[2:05 p.m.] And keep in mind I’m biting my tongue

[2:06 p.m.] John <3: You’re overreacting Alex

[2:06 p.m.] My tongue is bleeding

[2:06 p.m.] Take a look at what I sent him (photo image)

[2:07 p.m.] John <3: He wouldn’t go as far as to show that to people… would he?

[2:07 p.m.] Don’t worry

[2:08 p.m.] I’ll make sure he has a reason not to

 

“Ahahaha! For reals? Oh my – oh geez hold on, I need… I need to breathe,” Peggy says, although she’s mostly laughing while smacking her hand repeatedly on her thigh. “This is – this is gold!”

“Out of all the people on my contact list, I knew you’d be the best one to tell this to. And by the way, aren’t you supposed to be studying right now?” Aaron asks, but he’s still chuckling with the remnants of his outburst from before.

She shushes him, whispering so that Aaron has to lean into the phone to hear her clearly. “You did right to call me, though. Didn’t think Alex’d grown the balls to ask him out.”

“I would have never assumed John to be his type, if I were to be honest. Alexander seems he’d lean for a more rowdy attitude.” Although he never showed interest in anybody romantically, Aaron always imagined that the perfect fit for Alex would be a loud party animal.

John Laurens was certainly no party animal.

“Well, you know what they say,” Peggy explains, “opposites attract…” Aaron hums in agreement. She stays quiet for a moment before continuing. “You don’t really think they, uh, ya know…”

“They fucked?”

He could practically hear her scrunch up her nose on the other side of the phone. “Wouldn’t say it like that.”

Aaron chuckles. “Of course not. Alexander is crass and immature, among other negative adjectives, but I doubt he-”

_Buzz buzz._

“What in the – one moment, Ms. Peggy, someone just texted me,” Aaron says as he pulls his phone back to view the glowing screen.

“Of course,” she answers politely. He reads the message that, in retrospect, didn’t sound so bad until he saw the image attached to it. It’s a picture sent by John, a picture of John, and the text ‘ _is this what you wanted?_ ’

“I take that back.” He regretted opening the message in the first place, of thinking it wise to take a look at the text from John that was obviously intended to be sent to Alex, he should have left it at that and he would have been spared, oh no –

“Huh?” Peggy was waiting patiently for a response.

“I take everything back. All of it. Alexander is going to pay! I’m sorry for raising my voice, my eyes are burning.”

“What? Aaron, what are you even going on about? What’d you read? Was it from Alex?”

“Take it from me, Ms. Peggy. You do not want to know. Your sweet, innocent soul does not have to suffer.”

“Seriously.” Peggy is utterly confused.

“Pardon me, I need to go,” Aaron lies.

“Oh, well, bye then. I’ll call you back later?”

“My pleasure,” he finishes quickly before reopening his conversation with John and screenshoting it. “Not this time, Hamilton. You’re not getting away this time.”

[3:22 p.m.] This is Hercules Mulligan, correct?

[3:24 p.m.] TailorSpying: Uh yeah,, who dis?

[3:25 p.m.] My name is Aaron Burr, I attended the same high school and I am close acquaintances with Alexander Hamilton, whom I know asked out your friend John Laurens to prom

[3:26 p.m.] TailorSpying: Woah

[3:26 p.m.] TailorSpying: slow down

[3:26 p.m.] TailorSpying: Wait were you the guy from lunch the other week

[3:26 p.m.] It seems as though I have some information on Hamilton, someone I’m sure you know little to nothing about

[3:27 p.m.] TailorSpying: Hey you didn’t answer my question

[3:27 p.m.] TailorSpying: Hold up how you even get my number ???

[3:28 p.m.] I have everyone’s number

[3:28 p.m.] TailorSpying: K what the fuck

[3:29 p.m.] I knew you’d be curious about who he was, so I took the responsibility of giving you a bit of background on Hamilton

[3:30 p.m.] My dear

[3:30 p.m.] dear friend Hamilton

[3:30 p.m.] Yes

[3:31 p.m.] TailorSpying: What’s even happening anymore

[3:33 p.m.] (photo image)

[3:33 p.m.] TailorSpying: Tf is this

[3:34 p.m.] TailorSpying: wait

[3:35 p.m.] (photo image)

[3:36 p.m.] TailorSpying: what the

[3:37 p.m.] Never talk to me again

[3:38 p.m.] TailorSpying: Oh shit

[3:38 p.m.] TailorSpying: So this is some like top secret information right

[3:39 p.m.] TailorSpying: like the CSI

[3:39 p.m.] Sure

[3:40 p.m.] Preferably, don’t mention my name

[3:41 p.m.] TailorSpying: ay, don’t worry bro

[3:42 p.m.] TailorSpying: I’ll just say I know a guy

[3:43 p.m.] I really meant that whole “stop talking to me” thing

[3:43 p.m.] TailorSpying: you think you can dig up some dirt on Ashley Dicamon

[3:46 p.m.] please

[3:46 p.m.] TailorSpying: I’ve seen some shady shit with her

[3:50 p.m.] stop

[3:50 p.m.] TailorSpying: what about Jackson Smith

[3:50 p.m.] TailorSpying: that guy’s got issues

[3:51 p.m.] leave me alone

[3:52 p.m.] TailorSpying: So I heard Jackson dumped his girlfriend ‘cause she left him broke from all the times he’d buy her Starbucks and now he’s swimming in a pool of gift cards she sent him in retaliation

[3:52 p.m.] Lose this number

 

Alex carefully moves John’s curls from his face and caresses his cheek. He can hear John talking, although the sound is unfocused and he’s not really paying attention. John’s mouth is moving a mile a minute, and his hands are flurries in the air, but Alex has his mind in other places.

“And so I asked him, ‘Hey, Aaron, can you, like, just delete everything?’ And he answered, ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that anymore,’ and I’m like ‘What?’ And he never explains! How’d he even get in my contacts?” John took in a deep breath.

“Uh huh.”

“And I thought, well, I suppose Aaron is reasonable, you talk about him in good light, I’ll trust that he wouldn’t do anything, but I don’t know if –” John stops. “You’re not listening, are you?”

“Hm?” John’s eyes, looking down at Alex positioned snugly in his lap, glint knowingly.

“Alex! He saw the picture! The one you asked me to send! You’re not reacting with enough indignation!”

His eyes hardly widen. “That’s what he gets! Serves him right to make fun of me after the message I sent him.” They’re sitting inside of John’s car, parked behind the fast food restaurant Alex was kicked out of for cursing Aaron in every way possible.

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” John starts, but Alex brings his phone out and slowly scrolls through the messages.

He stares for the longest five seconds any human has experienced.

“Why did you ask me to send you those photos?” John asked suspiciously.

“Mm, no reason.” He suddenly tenses.

John’s eyes squint. “Really.”

Alex sweats. “Really.”

“You set us up.”

A bead of sweat drips down from his neck. “No…”

“You were the one who put him in my contacts. Under your name. You wanted me to send it to him. To get back at Aaron.”

He’s drenched now. “…N-no.”

“On. Purpose.”

All Alex can think to do is display a half-hearted smile. “Whoops.”

John punches him. “Alex!” He tries displaying a serious expression, but it comes out as an angry pout that brings Alex to tears of laughter. “Hey!”  
  
“I’m sorry!” he crackles between punches, “J-John, you’re tickling me!”

John stops his weak assault and frowns. “Fine.” He removes Alex from their position, pushing him off his lap, and rolls him over to the car door. “Get out.”

“This is my car though –”

He swings his shaking finger in front of Alex’s face. “I don’t want to hear it. Get out… And buy me a burger.” To make his point clear, John crosses his arms and turns the other way, though he also didn’t want to give Alex the satisfaction of seeing his embarrassment.

Alex decides to admit defeat and climbs out of the car. With a sigh, he hops out, only to have the car door slam in his face. John, still pouting and red faced, rolls down the window. “And think about what you’ve done!”

“I love you too!” Alex calls out as he re-enters the fast food restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But Alex, why are you going back in if you just got kicked out?
> 
> And come on, you don't think John would be irresponsible enough to send a dick pic, right? It was just a very revealing photo of himself, and I mean, very revealing.
> 
> As for Burr, I think he just has everyone's contact info on hand.


	8. Burr v Laurens Featuring Judge Angelica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hm? Oh. Laurens. How do you do?”
> 
> Angelica could see the glistening sweat on John’s forehead, a clear sign that he’d rather be literally anywhere else but there. “I wanted to discuss with you… a problem I have.” His foot taps rapidly and his hands search for his shirt cuff.
> 
> “A problem you have?” Aaron looks genuinely curios. “Why would you want to discuss this with me?”
> 
> “B-Because it has to do, with you.” Angelica gasps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I express just how happy the comments make me feel! They're my joy and motivation, my pride and my light, and a huge boost of self esteem! Thank you to all commenters, especially the ones who read my other work! <3
> 
> Things to note: this is after John gets asked to prom, about halfway through the second semester. Eliza already has a date, who's been hassled and harassed by Angelica's overprotective attitude. Aaron is going with Theodosia, obviously.
> 
> She's probably not going to make an appearance, though. Sorry Theo.

“The teacher’s grading system may be strict, sure, but when it comes down to detail, you won’t find more useful criticism.”

Angelica lets out an unladylike groan. “Aaron, you can’t possibly side with Tsen! He’s the only one that takes off points from my assignments because I don’t print them out on his favorite brand of copy paper! It’s anarchy!”

Aaron stopped his march. “You’re kidding.” Angelica shakes her head, clearly exasperated with the situation.

“And the worst part is,” she clings her bag closer to her chest, “Mandarine isn’t even a hard language. I’ve gotten the basics down, and I’m determined to use this last year to finish what I’ve started, but if someone doesn’t smack some sense into Tsen, the guy’s going to fail half the class!”

Her high heels click with every step they take on the cold tile of the school’s hallway. Some students, obviously freshmen by their small stature and big eyes, step aside to make room for Angelica and Aaron.

“Refrain from yelling in the hallways, Ms.Schuyler. You’re scaring the children.”

Her heels somehow click louder. “And scared they should be! They’ll be taking a class where the teacher fails them for the smallest mistake that sets off his OCD.” A girl shielding herself behind her locker door whispers to her friend adjacent to her. Angelica’s sharp eyes never miss a thing, though. “Yeah, that’s right kids,” she snaps. “You better enjoy your young years of leisure, because once you start getting ahead of yourselves and taking all these AP classes, you’ll never see the light of day again. Say goodbye to life itself.” She waves.

Aaron cautiously places his hand on her shoulder to hold her back. “I think you’re going too far.”

She stares down the terrified girl until her head starts throbbing from scrunching her forehead so much. “I think I need some coffee.”

He nods. “I’ll bring you some.” He makes it about halfway across the hall before returning and securing her hand. “On second thought, I’ll bring you along. Who knows what’ll happen if I leave you alone.”

Together, they walk out to a nearby coffee shop, where Angelica, newly energized by the caffeine and sugar, finishes her rant. “And he was like, ‘well, it is not my fault that you decided not study’ but I did! I did study! I skipped out on fucking Thanksgiving dinner to study for his stupid test! Ugh! Just thinking about this is…,” she takes a long sip of the scorching cup, “infuriating.”

“I’m regretting bringing you here,” Aaron comments.

Angelica snorts. “Yeah, I gave no idea why you thought this was good idea.” She takes another sip, until she throws out all logic and chugs the whole thing. “My sisters never let me have coffee.”

Aaron sighs as he leans back on the chair. “I’ll take note of that.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another cup I ordered with my name on it,” she says merrily as she skips to the counter.

The entrance is located right next to the pick-up counter, which is why Angelica spotted John before Aaron did. He actually stood with his hand outstretched towards the handle for a few seconds before turning it and stepping inside. She tries greeting him as he walks in, but his attention had been focused solely on the person whom she’d walked in with.

And, as any good friend would do, she stepped off to the sidelines to watch the conversation unfold from a distance.

“Uh. Um, A-Aaron.” John clears his throat as he notices Aaron had his back to him. “A-Aaron!”

“Hm? Oh. Laurens. How do you do?”

Angelica could see the glistening sweat on John’s forehead, a clear sign that he’d rather be literally anywhere else but there. “I wanted to discuss with you… a problem I have.” His foot taps rapidly and his hands search for his shirt cuff.

“A problem you have?” Aaron looks genuinely curios. “Why would you want to discuss this with me?”

“B-Because it has to do, with you.” Angelica gasps.

Aaron seems confused, then analytical, until it shows on his face that it finally dawned on him what John was talking about. “Ah, that.” He adjusts himself on the stool and motions for John to sit across from him.

“That’s my seat!” Angelica hisses.

“Look here,” Aaron starts, “I’m just going to say this right now: I don’t hate you. In fact, quite the opposite; you’re probably one of the only people that I find bearable.”

“I’ll… take that as a compliment?” John is confused by the direction the conversation has taken.

“But I believe I’ve made it very clear that I absolutely despise Hamilton.” He places his thumb on his chest for emphasis. “To my core.” Angelica can’t help but scoff at his lie.

Even John’s eyes crinkle knowingly. “Sure.”

Aaron’s hands swing almost aggressively as he recounts his explanation. “It’s his stupid actions that caused me to take the course of action that I did. And no, I will not apologize to Alexander, he should be the one apologizing to me for involving me in his stupid game –”

John hesitantly holds up his hand to interrupt him. “Hey, I just wanted to ask you if you could delete those messages. Just in case, ya know?”

Aaron ceases his hand movements. “Oh.” Angelica hollers, catching the attention of John and Aaron, who finally notice she’d been spying on their interactions for the past few minutes. Aaron breathes in deeply from his nostrils and smiles. “See, this is why I like you more than him. I’ll be happy to delete this, believe me.” He pulls out his phone and opens up his messages, turning the screen to show John as he actively deletes the conversation. “And there you have it.”

John puffs. “That went better than I thought it would.”

“Likewise. And I think I should go, before Angelica depletes my credit card on coffee.”

“Hey!” Angelica yells. “I can hear you.”

Aaron gets up, gathers his belongings, and exits, leaving John to sit alone at the table. Angelica approaches him.

"What was that all about? You got some good rumors I need to hear?" John rapidly shakes his head, silent. “How is it going?”

John looks up at her. “Fine. I’d say amazing, actually,” he responded, knowing she had been asking about him and Alex. Angelica smiles weakly. John stares at her questioningly. “And what about you? How are doing?”

She takes another sip, but she realizes that she’d already drank it all. “Everyone tells you senior year is the hardest year, but I guess I didn’t believe that until now.” She takes a seat, dips her head and leans on her hand, evidently exhausted. John nods.

“It’s not all rainbows and butterflies for me either, but having people who take you out to enjoy life once in a while doesn’t hurt.”

Angelica shakes her head. “I’m too busy. It’s been so long since I’ve even been able to hang out with my sisters at home.” She sighs, as if just talking to someone about her struggles is tiring in of itself.

“Wait.” John’s shoulders drop. “You’re not going to prom?”

“No.”

John slams his hands on the table. “Seriously?!” She jumps up, startled by his new attitude. “You’re telling me not a single person has asked you to prom?”

“Oh no,” she laughs, waving her hand in dismissal, “I got asked out by five guys, two girls, and my little cousin. I just think I should be focusing more on my studies.”

He sighs and shakes his head, disappointed. “Alex is probably the most workaholic high schooler in existence and he still has time to go out with friends and take me to prom,” John retorts. Angelica ignores the comment, but he doesn’t relent. “I’m serious! Take some time off, I’m sure it’ll do you good.”

Angelica considers his words for a while.

“Alright.” Her voice startles him.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Angelica nods, and with each second she becomes more convinced. “Yeah. You’re right. I should go out more. Thanks John.”

“Tall espresso for… Angelica?” The barista yells out from the pick-up counter. She quickly jumps up to take her third cup, but John holds her back.

“I think you’re going too far,” he says, worried about her health. She stares longingly at her order.

“…I think I need to start drinking tea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I uploaded again without notice. What are you gonna do about it, huh?
> 
> This might actually mean it'll be a while until the next chapter, so...
> 
> *dodges pitchforks*


	9. Washington and the Seating Chart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen, don't tell anyone this, but Washington has the gift of matchmaking. He can put together two people who would absolutely despise each other and have them becoming best of friends in no time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long after John is asked to prom, seen through the eyes of everyone's favorite bio teacher. And Thomas Jefferson makes a cameo! He's been off in Paris for so long.

He could hear from his position at the desk in the far corner of the classroom the quiet giggles and delicate touches originating from two of his favorite students. They have been teasing and flirting with each other ever since they met, and Washington can’t decide whether he wishes for them to get together already or for them to finally focus in class.

“Alright, everybody.” His booming voice catches the attention of the classroom and the two love birds at the opposite end of the room, near the specimen jars. “I’ve been hearing numerous complaints concerning the seating chart I assigned this class in the beginning of the school year, and so, I will take into consideration the prospect of switching a few partners around. But!” He raises his voice to drown out the growing whispers in the room. “I will be the one to decide who and where you move seats. That is all.”

As a biology teacher at one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation, Washington is admired by everyone. The teachers in the lounge offer their chairs for him, the faculty praises his methods of discipline, and the students gaze and sigh as he enters the room. He makes sure to place each of his beloved students with the perfect partner that will draw out their best skills.

Sometimes he thinks he’s too good at matching partners up.

“Um, Mister, if I may ask,” John Laurens, raising a timid hand, continues, “when will we find out who you’re switching?”

Washington sighs. “I’ve told you all to call me George, not Mister. And I’ll fix the seating chart tomorrow morning, so be prepared to sit with someone new on Friday.” The class becomes louder, with indignant yells and sorrow goodbye hugs between friends. Through the sea of students, Washington spots his pupil Alexander with a long face.

“I hope he doesn’t move us,” Alex whispers. With the way he stares appreciatively at his partner, Washington can’t help but smile. Not too long ago, the same Alex would have pushed away any intimate conversation with strangers and ramble on about irrelevant topics. With John, however, he seemed to have opened up quickly.

He was glad Alex found someone to handle his rationality, really, he was. And it was a bonus that he happened to be interested in the shy, shrinking John, who’d pour his heart and soul to the person next to him. He’d never found such a good pair in the same classroom.

Too bad they didn’t learn anything in this classroom. It was a shame. When they worked on projects or presentations, they were a riot. But sitting together at a desk? God forbid they start randomly making out while he’s lecturing on mitosis. Every time Washington flicks his eyes in their direction, he’s almost guaranteed to witness Alex’s flirtatious attitude or John’s attempts to reciprocate. At first he found it downright adorable. Now he’s regretting everything he’s ever done the past semester.

 

“Sir! Sir!” Alex bounces out from the dark hallway and slams the classroom door open. He’s breathing heavily, but something tells Washington that running wasn’t the only reason for that. “Sir! I came to, oh geez, let me catch my breath… uh, I came to, talk to you about, _god_  I need to work out more, uh… came to talk to you about the new seatings.”

Washington rolls his eyes, knowing this would eventually happen. “Can you be more specific, Alexander? And make it quick, I’ve got conferences in half an hour.”

“Sir. Don’t move me and John. Please.” Washington turns around at the softness of his voice. He raises an eyebrow. “I-I feel that we do… so well together. In, um, in class. I just,” he mumbles on, making incomprehensible hand gestures. “I don’t… I like him. A-As a partner. A lab partner! I meant a lab partner.”

Washington laughs. He takes a seat at his desk, motioning for Alex to bring up a chair in front of him. “I understand that you find John to your liking. Believe me, I can tell.”

Alex blushes and lowers his head in embarrassment. He lets out a harsh groan. “I promise I’ll be more attentive in class. It’s just really hard when you have… him sitting right next to you.”

“I understand, really, I do.”

Alex shakes his head in frustration. “I’ll try my hardest sir, but whenever he talks, or smiles, or breathes, I can’t help it. I can’t look away.”

“I know.”

Alex grabs his hair in a bunch. “I’m sure everyone in the goddamn room can see the way I look at him, and the way I talk to him, and the way I fawn over him, but I really don’t think I could handle letting him sit with someone else.”

“I can assure you, they can.”

Alex paused. “Wait, what?”

Washington laughed. “Why do you think the students have been complaining about the seating? They can’t stand you two giggling and smiling at each other everyday.” Alex stares dumbfounded before groaning even louder and smacking his head on the desk. Washington pats his back soothingly.

 

“Um, Mister…” John stood quietly behind the door frame, peeking in cautiously. “If I may come in?” Washington took five seconds to remind himself to keep his composure and turned to greet his student.

“John. The classroom is free for all, you don’t need to ask.” John quietly thanked him and walked over to his desk. He sat scrunched up in the chair Alex left just a while ago before starting his argument.

“I don’t truly understand why you’ve decided to switch partners, I mean, everyone knows you have no problems with any of your students, a-and I’m sure you have good reason! It’s not like I’m questioning your decisions! No, not at all! But I just want to know if, by any chance, this change of seating was caused by me and my partner? Because I can hear the whispers, you know, they think they’re quiet and sneaky, but I should know, I’m more quiet than anyone else, and I hear them talking to themselves about us and how we bother them and distract them from learning, and what not. But if this is what you’re basing your decision on, which, again, I’m not saying it’s wrong! Um, but, I just think letting childish complaints move us is… dumb…” John’s sweaty palms rub his knees, and his foot taps rapidly on the tiled floor.

As if history repeats itself, Washington laughs. “Well, you certainly are more observant than Alex.”

John tilts his head in confusion. Then his eyes widen in realization, and he smiles slightly. “He was just here, wasn’t he?”

“I told him I’d think about it, but you’ve prepared such an extravagant speech that I suppose I’ve made up my mind.” He flips through the pile of test results for another class and flops, exhausted, onto his chair. “If you don’t mind, John, I’m meeting some parents in a couple minutes…”

John, grinning, abruptly jumps from his own chair. “Yes, of course! I’m sorry, but thank you for reconsidering! You won’t regret it!” He practically skips out of the room, and this time Washington is the one who slams his head onto the desk.

“Dear me… The things I do for love.”

 

When Washington awoke that morning, he took his special morning coffee in a thermos and hurried along to another day of teaching. The sky was surprisingly clear for a day in autumn in New York City. He breathed the chilly air all throughout the morning, and then through his break, until he was interrupted by a certain student who shook his fist in the air.

“Your excellency, I demand an explanation!” Thomas yelled.

Washington could fill up a hot air ballon with the amount of exasperated sighs he lets out every day. “May you be more specific? And I don’t mean to be rude, but you are visiting me without regard for my comfort.”

“I want to know,” Thomas seethes, ignoring the latter comment, “why you allowed Hamilton and Laurens to sit together even after I _specifically_ asked for their removal! They’re a distraction to the diligent students who come to your class every day to learn. They’re a threat to the learning environment!” He throws his hands in the air.

“How did you come to find out about this, I don’t have you three until the afternoon.”

Thomas huffs, tossing his glossy hair behind his back. “I can tell by the way they’re snuggling together under the trees, happily chatting as if their world hasn’t been shattered into pieces!” he spits. “Why? Why hasn’t their world been shattered into pieces?”

Washington took a long, drawn out sip of coffee. “They’re allowed to enjoy their friendship, as all my pupils are, or am I wrong? Do you think I should deprive two good students of their cheerfulness? I certainly don’t have the right to.”

Thomas opens his mouth, about to argue yet again, but he instead stares down the tile floors. “... You deprived me of James,” he muttered. Washington heard it loud and clear.

“Are you referring to your semester as a transfer student in France?” Thomas’ silence answered it for him. “I thought you had been excited about that?”

Thomas frowned. “Only so that I wouldn’t disappoint you. You made him stay here to endure Hamilton’s disgusting displays of affection and then placed me far away from him once I returned.” His fists tightened.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were sat next to each other as lab partners before Washington sent Thomas, one of his star students, on an exchange program to France. He felt it would allow Thomas to explore more than what he’d already seen of the world. And, to be completely honest, he was relieved to have Thomas away from arguing with Alex every time they could. “I did not know about your relationship with James.”

“And it seems you’re also ignorant to Hamilton’s relationship with Laurens,” he pouts.

“Oh,” Washington smirked, “I think I’m well aware of their feelings towards each other. But as long as their friendship does not pass any of my boundaries, I’ll be glad to allow them to sit —”

“What do you mean ‘ _their feelings for each other_!’ They’re in _freaking_ love! They’re going to prom together! They’re in a solid, romantic relationship! How are you so blind?!” Thomas throws his hands up again and storms off, his hair bouncing in fury.

Meanwhile, Washington is replaying the recent times Alex and John have been more touchy-feely than usual, giggling more than usual, _pecking_ each other on the cheek, and _how did I become so blind?_

“Huh.” It’s at this moment that Washington comes to the realization that he could get good money as a match-maker. First Thomas and James, then Alex and John. It’s strange how things work out sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished a biography on our pal James, and man, he was a really prominent guy in the battle of politics for someone so short and quiet. Mad respect.


	10. Basic Bitch Costume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The costume is funny until it turns into Cabinet Battle #1000.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOIJ: Halloween Edition! Yup, a chapter set in Halloween.
> 
> Eliza dressed up as a bear, Angelica dressed as a zombie, and Peggy went as a vampire. Lafayette went as a pirate captain. Hercules, as you will read, also went as a pirate, but he was probably like, second in command.
> 
> John's a party pooper and didn't dress up as anything.

John blinked. He blinked twice, three times, and then blinked so many times he was practically closing his eyes. He had just been so caught off guard by the sight next to him that he could not form the words to properly react.

Alex was wearing ears. Clipped on, slick black, hairy cat ears, sitting snugly on top of his head. He had three lines drawn on each of his cheeks, and a little brush of pink at the tip of his nose.

Apparently he had been laughing, because Alex was currently asking him to stop.

“It’s not even that funny, John! So what, I’m wearing this stupid costume. Eliza made me wear it!”

John grabs his stomach and tries regaining his breath, the hysterical laughter not stopping. “I thought… you said… Eliza was the nice one!”

Alex pulls his hair. “So did I! But I owed her when she paid for my dinner last week and she made me promise to keep this stuff on for Halloween and — ugh, John, stop laughing, seriously. Everyone’s staring.”

The pain in John’s stomach grew as he took another look at Alex and pressed his mouth into his arms, the sight causing another fit of giggles. “You… You think they haven’t been staring already?” He’s coughing now, and smiling like an idiot. “Dear god, Alex, you even have the nose!”

Alex, blushing and now self conscious, hides his nose behind his hands. “You’re…,” he eventually brings his whole face into his hands, “You’re taking this out of proportion.”

He hears a few snickers around the room, which is rowdy since Washington still hadn’t arrived yet. John takes a deep breath, struggles to keep his composure, and apologizes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make fun of you, really. You just,” he giggles, ruining the moment, “oh my goodness, I can’t do this.” He crackles, tears falling from his eyes. “I can’t do this, I’m sorry!”

Alex turns his chair in the other direction. “Okay, be like that John.” He brings the leg of the chair all the way to the edge of the table, putting as much distance between him and John as possible. “See if I care.”

John pouts, still laughing but managing to keep his voice down. “I really am sorry.” Alex doesn’t move. “Alex. You’re… not made at me, are you?”

He’s never seen someone turn around so fast in his life. “No! No! Gosh, I could never be mad at you! Uh,” his scarf hangs low on his neck, exposing the heat traveling there along with the blush on his cheeks, “it’s okay. I don’t… I’m not mad.”

John smiled. “And you don’t look that bad, I mean—”

“Hamilton, is that you? You look like a rat!”

They both turn to stare at Thomas, whose big, pointy finger swings in their direction. “No, you look like a fucking basic white girl! What are those, cat ears?” Alex growls, slowly rising from his seat. “Oh my god, those are cat ears! What a basic bitch!”

The classroom switches their attention to Thomas’ name calling, suddenly intrigued by the outburst. It gets unreasonably quiet for an unsupervised group of high school students.

“Says the _bitch_ ,” Alex spits back, earning a few ‘ooh’s’ from the kids in the room. Thomas tenses, his smile switching quickly into a frown.

“Excuse me?” His eyes darken, and John seriously hopes that Washington arrives before the two take it too far. “Hamilton, you’re dressed like a pussy. So how’s about you do your job: get down and lick,” he jabs his finger, “my,” he tilts his head, “boots.”

The attentive crowd gets louder, and at the same time, steps back in order to give the two space for their spectacle.

“Your boots are full of shit, Jefferson. And yeah, I’m probably the best pussy you’ve ever seen.”

The students crowded behind Alex roar.

Thomas visibly stifles. He nervously fixes his collar, trying to buy time to think of a better comeback.

“Alex,” John whispers, “Washington is gonna be here any minute now—”

“Jefferson started it,” he said, his hands going up in defense. Someone behind Thomas yells in encouragement, followed by a boo from Alex’ side.

“Oh yeah,” Thomas scoffed. “Because you, of all people, would know about pussy. Or am I wrong, John?” He flicks his eyes to John, surprised to be brought into the argument.

The comment, obviously, did not sit well with Alex. “You better fucking take that back and apologize before I bash your head into the goddamn ground.” The crowd does not stir, instead, they share glances, as if to say ‘this isn’t going to end well’. The silence is so great that every little breath could be heard.

The bell rings, signaling the beginning of class, and still no sign of Washington.

“Oh? Resorting to violence? What, are you gonna scratch me with your itty witty cat claws?” Thomas wiggles his fingers like a baby, mocking Alex’s costume again.

“No,” Alex responds. “I’m gonna shove those claws up your ass, Jefferson. Not like it’s your first time, right?” He smirks, knowing the reaction he’ll elicit. “Too bad Madison ain’t here to please you. Is that why you’ve been so bitchy since you got back from France? ‘Cause your fuckbuddy’s too sick of you?”

“Alex!” John shouts, grabbing his arm tightly. A few of the people behind Thomas do the same, fearing that it’ll turn into an all out fist fight. Thomas is breathing heavily, his scowl scaring the girls watching. Alex holds John’s hand, accidentally gripping it so hard that it starts to hurt. Everyone in the room is waiting for someone to make the next move, for someone to swing their fist or give in and calm down.

“Sorry I’m late, I got caught up with a student in the hallway and—” Washington pauses, standing wide eyed in at the door, recognizing the situation in his room. “What… is this?”

Thomas and Alex point accusingly at each other. “It was him!” they say in unison.

 

“I heard there was fight in Washington’s room,” Hercules mentions, swinging his empty pillowcase haphazardly. “Did you hear about it?”

John rolls his eyes. “It wasn’t a fight. And yeah, I was there.”

Hercules stops in his tracks, standing in the middle of a street light. “For real? What happened dude, give me the deets.”

“Nothing,” John lies, avoiding Hercules’ awaiting eyes. He watches a group of children, each of them dressed as a famous superhero, walking across a lawn with opened bags and delighted squeals. The dark night makes the home they approach more sinister, covered in fake cobwebs and caution tape. A lady sits happily on the porch, smiling under a white wig and powdered make up. “Washington just got mad about something.”

“That’s it? Man, I was hoping the story’d be more exciting.” Hercules fixed his eyepatch around his head, adjusting it to cover his left eyes. “Thing is really itchy. Why did I have to go all out on this pirate costume?”

“Don’t know,” John says, passing by a couple dressed as a blue and green crayola. “Last year, I was pretty sure you’d said dressing up was for kids.”

Hercules grumbled. “Yeah, well, last year I was an awkward junior. As a senior, you’re kind of entitled to everything. Which means nobody can judge you if you want to dress up as some stupid shit.”

John laughs, remembering the incident that had happened not too long ago. “Sure.”

“Holy shit,” Hercules almost whispers. “Did you see that guy?” He motions towards a man in a clown costume carrying a chainsaw and a sign hanging from his neck saying ‘Free Hugs’. “I swear, John, that guy has been following us since we passed the gas station.”

“You’re paranoid,” John giggles. “Remember last year with that whole killer clown craze? And how you totally saw one of them with a knife trying to break into your car? Because as you said, he was planning on waiting there for you to come back so that he could stab you to death?”

“That shit was scary!” Hercules exclaims. “Dude looked like Ronald McDonald with that bloody ass smile! And I swear he had a knife on him.”

“Uh huh,” John smirks. He looks behind him to see the clown again, only to realize he had left. The house he ended up seeing was huge, almost like a mansion, and laying lazily on the steps was Alex.

“What’s up, dude?” Hercules asks.

“Uh,” John searches for an excuse. “Go ahead without me, Hercules. I’ll meet you and Laf at the haunted house later.”

“Why?”

“Just wanna… check something out.”

Hercules sighs. “You better not bail on us.”

“Wouldn’t dream on it,” he says, walking over to the house where he had seen Alex before. As he watches Hercules go off, he opens the metal gate to the home, catching Alex’s attention.

“Is that you, John?”

John smiles. “Nice to see you here.” He stares up at the tall home. “This where you live?”

“Hah! Like I could afford this beauty. No, this is — and don’t laugh, this is Washington’s home. Well, one of his homes.”

John raises an eyebrow. “Why are you at one of Washington’s homes?”

“…The fact that you ask that instead of why Washington has more than one home says a lot about you.” Alex picks up a basket of candy from the bottom of the steps. “This was, uh, punishment for almost fighting Jefferson in class today. He’s making me stay out until one in the morning for trick-or-treaters.”

“Can… Can he do that?”

Alex shrugs. “He’s George Washington; he can do anything.” They both laugh at that. Alex hands John the basket. “Trick-or-treat?”

“Treat,” John replies, grabbing a cherry lollipop. Alex gulps.

“S-So, what are you doing…here.”

John opens the wrapper and pops the candy into his mouth. “I was heading to that haunted house down the block,” he explains, the lollipop now wet with saliva. Alex gulps again. He places it back in his mouth, moving his tongue around the base of the lollipop, lips puckered and red from the color. “I don’t suppose you could leave this place for a bit? Come with me?”

Alex’s eyes switch from his lips to his eyes. “I’d really love to, b-but if Washington caught me, I’d be dead.” His eyes betray him, lowering back to the line of saliva sticking from John’s mouth to the candy. “I-I’d be… dead,” he repeats.

“That’s too bad,” John says sincerely. “I kinda have to get moving, though.”

“R-Right.”

John starts walking towards the gate, then abruptly turns around to face Alex. “One more question.” Alex stares questioningly. “Why are you still wearing the cat face paint?”

Alex, albeit the little lighting, visibly blushed. “I-I didn’t realize it was still on! Shit, did I walk around like that all day?” He rubs his face with his sleeve, smearing the paint onto his cheeks.

John laughed. “If makes you feel any better, you make a good cat.”

“A cute cat?” Alex tries.

“A grumpy cat,” John says, then runs off before Alex has a chance to retort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess Thomas is sticking around in this.


	11. Class Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron wishes he could take a break.  
> Alex and John wish they'd have planned things out.  
> Eliza wishes coffee never existed.  
> Hercules... is actually pretty okay with everything that happened this chapter.  
> Peggy wishes she'd been invited to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prom is in June, and right now I'd say the story is around midway May.
> 
> Which means the end is near for this story :(
> 
> Also, I can't believe this passed 100 kudos. 1200 hits. What better way to thank the readers than starting a chapter with some boys being naughty.

“…To my peers, who stayed up late hours, who sacrificed their friends and maybe even friendships, who looked at their books instead of looking for a hook up, and to everyone who has overcome the tall hurdles of… Well, I mean,” Alex pauses, lowering the stack of stapled papers from his hands to meet his eyes with John’s, “Some people didn’t even graduate this year. Plus, I’m pretty sure I can’t be one to talk about hooking up if I be been with you for three months. And two weeks. And five days.” He smiles. “I keep count.”

John giggles. “Are you ever going to finish your speech without interrupting yourself?” He shakes his head, the long curls twisting as if they had a mind of their own. “Why do you think Mister Washington had you edit it?”

“I dunno,” Alex shrugged. “Thought it was standard procedure to ask for edits.”

“You’re really bad at taking criticism, aren’t you?”

Alex stares sheepishly. “I mean,” he blushed, “when it’s not justified. I got a knack for writing, don’t know if you’ve noticed.” He waves around his speech, crinkling the paper. “You hear that? That’s the sound of art.” John laughs as Alex wraps his arms around himself. He leans into John’s shirt, staying in the position for longer than intended. “You smell nice.”

John relaxes, despite how incredibly warm Alex was and how satisfying it felt to have him nuzzle his neck. “You’re supposed to be practicing you speech.”

Alex looks up. “Give me a break, Jack. It’s been so long,” his voice becomes muffled as he smushed his face over John’s shoulder, “So long since I’ve had a day where I didn’t have to go nose deep into a book.” He yawns. “I finally get to spend some proper time with you.” He kisses his neck.

John feels ecstatic. “Well…” He bumps into the bed, where he takes a seat and pulls Alex to sit next to him. “I guess we could take a break…,” he says slowly, teasingly leaning in until Alex loses patience and removes the distance between them.

He squeaks even though he knew it was coming. Alex’s hand travels up his cheek, caressing him as he takes his time, leisurely slotting their lips together. The sound of them echoes loudly around the room.

“Everyone’s… gonna be arriving soon…,” John says in between kisses, although he doesn’t try to stop Alex. Instead, he gives him more access by laying down on the bed as Alex deepens the kiss with the new angle. He feels his tongue sliding delicately over his bottom lip, but he keeps his lips shut until he gives in and Alex’s tongue searches hungrily inside his mouth. His head reaches up when Alex separates himself.

“…Soon,” Alex whispers, barely moving away from John’s lips, “but not yet.” Then he leans back down, capturing John in a more desperate kiss. The surprise elicits a small moan from John, his heart beating a mile a minute, and yet his mind clear of thoughts. Alex giggles, pecking his lips before moving his ministrations to the upper junction of his neck, kissing and licking so as to not leave a mark. John’s breathing is labored, and his fingers sift slowly through Alex’s hair, needing to do something with his hands.

Alex reaches lower, near his collarbone, and presses a few wet kisses before choosing a spot and sucking on it. John grips his hair, letting out a shaky breath. “You’re… gonna leave a mark…”

Alex sucks harder. “That’s the plan,” he mumbles, and John laughs. He brings Alex’s mouth back onto his own before he creates an even bigger hickey, smiling as Alex, begrudgingly but relenting, bites his bottom lip and eagerly resumes their kiss. He brings one leg over John’s thigh, allowing him to sit completely on top of him. Alex leans back, taking an appreciative view of his work — John smiling and catching his breath, hair tossed around, eyes closed in pleasure — then laughs as John forcefully brings him back down.

One of them, he can’t remember who, and not that it matters, connected their hips, and then it was as if lighting struck. Suddenly, their reaching to grind their hips together, searching for contact. Their kiss becomes sloppy and faster, teeth clanking against each other, but John couldn’t help to ignore it in favor of the pleasure of Alex above him. Alex grinds their hips again, causing them to both moan into each other, his hands laying on John’s chest. He sucks on John’s bottom lip again (he’s been finding out that his bottom lip is Alex’s favorite spot), and by now he’s positive they look bruised and red.

Alex parts, the both of them taking the much need break to regain their breath. “You still want to have me finish my speech?”

John taps his chest lightly. “Shut up,” he laughs, and then is cut short by Alex’s mouth on his own. He’s too busy relishing in the feeling of their lips fitting perfectly against each other to wonder when the hell the company was going to arrive, and then Alex grinds his hips again and then he can’t really think at all.

Alex brings his hand under John’s shirt, sliding it up and down over his abdomen, grinding his hips again, sucking on the other side of his neck, and he can’t help but shake in pleasure —

“Hey.”

Aaron’s monotone voice makes the two jerk up almost instantly, John throwing Alex off of him and Alex rolling over to the complete opposite of the bed.

They both stare, caught red handed, flushed and out of breath.

Aaron sighs. “You left the door open.”

“O-Oh.” John, if possible, blushes even more.

There’s a long silence between them before Aaron sighs louder and shuts the bedroom door. “You better get ready; the sisters are arriving soon.”

‘Soon,’ he thinks back, glancing at Alex, who seemed to have remembered his own words as well. They get up from the bed to readjust themselves.

“Burr just had to ruin it,” Alex mumbles.

 

 

“I think your introduction is good, it catches attention and has a bit of a kick to it,” Aaron says, nodding his head. “…But,” Alex cringes, “by the end of it you kind of sound like you’d rather be done with the ceremony.” He hands the stack of paper to John, who passes it back to Alex. “Lackluster is the word I was looking for.”

Alex grumbles. “You’re just jealous.”

“And you’re just too confident,” John reminds him. “Aaron is right, you tend to use general words by the time you get to your conclusion.”

“And this thing is way too long. Cut down the historical references just a bit,” Aaron adds.

“I can guarantee you nobody wants to hear a quote from Thomas Paine.”

“And you didn’t thank anybody for your own accomplishments. In fact, I don’t believe you even mentioned your own accomplishments. Surprising.”

“We know you want to brag, and we’re giving you the permission to do so just this once.”

Alex stares annoyed. “It’s like you’re double teaming me.”

“I believe a thank you is an order,” Aaron says, crossing his legs. Alex rolls his eyes.

“Thank you… John.”

John shoves his shoulder. “And Burr.”

Aaron smirks. “You are very welcome, Alexander.” He hands Alex his laptop, where he kept a copy of his speech, and the room is quiet save for the rapid typing of the keyboard.

The door to John’s apartment slams open, scaring the three of them and disturbing the peace. “How’s it going!” Angelica yells, dragging in Eliza as she bumps a lamp over and hits her shin on the coffee table.

“…Hey,” the three greet. Eliza flops down on the couch in between John and Aaron, an exasperated sigh escaping from her as turns to face then.

“This is why I don’t trust Peggy with the key to the cabinet,” she says, staring at Angelica and her permanent smile. John and Aaron motion for her to continue, still not sure of what she was referring to.

“We lock up the jar of coffee,” she explains as if it was normal to do so, “and I decided Peggy was old enough to start drinking.” She straightens up, leaning in closer to the two. “But then, I find out Peggy gives up the key in exchange for a reduction of her house arrest! Completely irresponsible, and I thought Angelica was the smart one.”

“The oldest and the wittiest,” Angelica sings, grabbing Alex’s laptop without notice and almost dropping onto the ground. “Lemme see this thing.”

“Hey! I was working on that!” He turns to Eliza. “Who was the dumbo that gave her coffee?”

“Wow, I’m surprised!” Angelica shoves the laptop screen in front of Eliza. “Look, look! He doesn’t even mention himself in any of it! It’s a miracle!” Alex frowns at her, forcefully taking back his laptop to continue his edits. Angelica crosses her arms over her shirt. “Well someone’s a downer. What, John broke up with you? No, let me guess; Aaron broke up with you!”

“Oh, John did just enough,” Aaron says, earning interested stares from the sisters. “You see, I came over, completely unaware of the horror occurring inside this place, and I open the door to find—”

“Nothing!” Alex cuts him off.

Aaron blinks. “Exactly. I found nothing. But I could hear the two in the bedroom, so I opened that door and found—”

The door slams open again, and John winces at the sound. “Hey, John! And Co!” Hercules squeezes through, carrying a bag of take-out. “Laf is coming soon, he got caught up in some yoga class.”

“Huh.” Alex shakes his head, his fingers still clicking away at the keyboard. “Yoga class…”

Aaron scoots over to his side of the couch, pointing out another error in Alex’s speech.

“What’d you bring?” Angelica asks, the former discussion completely forgotten. She grabs the bag from a half terrified Hercules and opens the styrofoam boxes. “Ooh! Chinese! What are these, egg rolls?” She swirls towards the kitchen counter, accessible from the common room, and searches around before asking, “Johnny, where do you put all your dishes?”

John sighs, getting up from his seat, concerned of what Angelica would do unsupervised. Eliza smiles apologetically. “Over here, by the dishwasher.”

“If I had the power,” Eliza says, “I would have kept her at home. But she got in the car before I even realized she left the house.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the same room,” Angelica yells as she balances the plates and cups on each hand. John stares warily, not too keen on the idea of a caffeinated Angelica holding anything that belongs to him. Much to his relief, she safely makes her way to the coffee table, passing the plates around the group.

“And an extra one for Mr.Yoga Pants,” Alex reminds her.

Hercules takes the plate from her hand, tossing chow mien onto it haphazardly. “If he doesn’t come in the next five minutes, I’m eating his food.”

John takes out his phone, staring at the message before looking back up. “Laf says ‘I’m not gonna make it in five minutes, make sure Herc doesn’t eat my food.’ …So I’ll be taking that,” he says, sliding the bag of food towards himself.

“But that’s the whole point of the section!” They all turn to stare at Alex’s outburst. He holds out a hand at the screen. “I’m not deleting this part, Burr. No matter how boring you think it is, there is absolutely no bone in my body that will forbid me from referencing the time we took down that stupid dress code policy.”

Hercules couldn’t help but laugh as he walked over to an empty chair, pulling out his phone. Aaron rubs his hands over his face, annoyed by Alex’s ignorant behavior. “We don’t need to persecute the administrators. Look, all I’m saying is Washington is going to notice this and ask you to delete it, why not get it over with—”

“Aaron,” Angelica pokes his shoulder, holding a cup in her hand, “Coke or Pepsi?”

“Pepsi,” he answers, earning a sound of disgust from Alex. “Anyways, as I was saying, Washington is going to have you remove this sooner or later, you might as well do it right now.”

“But this adds to the theme of my speech,” Alex rushes. “And I ain’t taking it out until someone with reason explains why I should.” Aaron scoffs, throwing his hands up in defeat. He grumbles something about stupidity and Coke as he holds down his cup for Angelica to pour his drink in. Alex watches with strained eyes. “Course you’d be a Pepsi guy…”

“Am I ever going to witness a gesture of friendship between you two?” Eliza asks, finally looking up from her phone that she brought out once the argument had started. “It’s amazing how you still talk to each despite how deeply you hate each other.”

“Friends?” Alex and Aaron say in unison. “Sure.”

“John.” Angelica stands above him. “Coke or Pepsi?”

“Coke,” he smiles. Alex gives him a thumbs up.

Hercules, who was left standing because all the seats were taken, stuck to John. “You, uh… You didn’t tell me you were bringing the sisters. I mean, I brought enough food for them, but that’s because I always buy too much.”

“That’s very true.”

Hercules frowns. “How is it that you have more friends than me and Laf and _you’re_ the shy one.”

“…I feel like I should be offended by that.”

Angelica magically pops up from behind the couch. “Hey, big guy!” Hercules looks around before pointing to himself. She nods. “You bring soy sauce?”

“Her voice also changes,” Eliza notes. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her like this.”

“Scary,” Hercules mutters under his breath. “Yeah, the packets are under the napkins.”

 

 

John tried hiding his laughter, meanwhile Eliza’s hollering could probably be heard throughout the floor.

Alex continued making incomprehensible noises. “You don’t actually think that I’m anything like Harrison, right? The guy was a one hit wonder! He got pneumonia on his own inauguration; why the hell is he on this quiz anyways?” He grabs Eliza’s arm desperately. “Elizabeth, defend my honor.”

Eliza kicked him away with her heels. “I think it’s a sign, Alex!” She wiped away stray tears. “Oh, that was a good laugh. You do get sick very easily.”

“I mean,” Hercules dances around his words, swinging the What U.S. President Are You? online quiz results from his phone. “He kinda looks like you, dude. Gotta face the facts.”

Alex slams his laptop shut. “That quiz is pure garbage. Everyone knows I’d be Teddy Roosevelt.” The group exchanges glances, unsure of what to say. “Oh, come on. Are you saying I wouldn’t have created the New Deal coalition?” Silence. “You know what,” he shoves the laptop onto the couch, “You guys are all pure garbage.”

“Not everyone is genuinely interested in the mudslinging history of the country’s political policies,” John says, his mouth stuffed with white rice. “We just learn it because we have to.”

Hercules nods. “Goes through one ear,” he taps his right ear, then his left, “comes out the other.”

“Preach!” Angelica yells. She tips her cup into the air, spilling soda on the probably expensive carpet.

Aaron turns to Eliza. “You let her drive?”

Eliza shrugs. “I mean, we made it here safely, right?” She shuffles to grab a handful of napkins. “Sorry, John. She’ll clean that up nicely, won’t she?” Angelica groans, taking the napkins and dropping to her knees, harshly scrubbing the carpet.

John sighs. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll bring someone in to fix that, don’t worry about it.”

“Rich people problems,” Alex mumbles.

“By the way,” John opens the laptop, squinting his eyes at the light, “— wow, Alex, you gotta lower the brightness, this is why you don’t sleep — Oh, by the way, we’ve been here for over three hours and so far we’ve made zero edits to the valedictorian speech,” he counts off the list from his fingers, “Lafayette hasn’t arrived yet,” Hercules checks his phone, “and I caught Angelica stealing my coffee jar from the cabinets,” Eliza gasps in disbelief. “It’s getting dark, so if you want to continue this, uh, whatever this is, you should probably find someone else’s home.”

“You’re kicking us out?” Angelica shakes her head. “Where are your manners?”

“No, you know what, Aaron would be Zachary Taylor. Incredibly vague about his political agenda, his administration got absolutely nothing done in the little time he held office, plus the dude like, completely abandoned his political party. Aaron, are you sure you’re not his reincarnation or something?” Alex smirks, swinging his fist in victory. Aaron rolls his eyes.

“Dude, that conversation was over a while ago,” Hercules shrugs. “John’s kicking us out, let’s go to my place. It’s like here, but with more seats.”

The group stumbles around the room, grabbing their belongings and picking up their trash. John clears the table, already starting on the dishes before Alex strides over to him.

“You don’t want to come with us?” He fills up the sink with water.

“I’ve got some things I need to work on. You go, it’s your speech after all.”

Alex smiles. “Fine.” He leans over the sink, turning on the faucet and letting the water sit. “But let me help you with those dishes first.”

“And you talk about manners, Angelica,” Aaron remarks, tossing the empty bag of Chinese food into the trash can. “You can’t even clean up after yourself. This isn’t even your home.”

Angelica, for the first time that day, looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, John.” She tried scrapping rice grains stuck to the table to apologize. “But, I mean, _mi casa es su casa_?” Aaron stared back, shaking his head and making her feel even more embarrassed of her behavior.

Eliza sat idyl on the couch, happy to not have to do any work for once. And because she always stayed to clean, nobody motioned for her to help out.

“Sorry about earlier,” Alex started, his hands working diligently to rinse the dishes. John stared questioningly. “You know, when Aaron came over. I guess I got a little carried away.”

“We both got carried away. It wasn’t your fault.” John smiled, laughing at the memory. “Besides… It was fun.”

Alex blushed, smiling with crinkled eyes, shaking his head. “Oh my god, I can’t with you.” He pulls John’s arm with a wet hand. “Come here.” He caught John’s lips in his own, causing him to drop the plate he had been holding into the sink.

He could practically hear Hercules punching his eyes out from across the room. “You know, there are people here.” John reciprocates, dipping his head to get a better angle. Hercules throws up his hands. “I can’t fucking believe you two.”

“Let them have their fun,” Angelica waves. “We’ll be in the car, Alexander!” Aaron and Eliza follow her outside into the cold night, with Hercules stumbling around the table to leave so he wouldn’t have to witness anymore than he already has.

John lays his forehead onto Alex’s, laughing at their friends’ antics. “They’re going to leave you if you don’t hurry up.”

Alex pouts. “You really are kicking us out, aren’t you?” He picks up the forgotten plate, rinsing off the soap bubbles and drying it off with the towel. “What things do you need to work on?”

John froze, and if Alex noticed, he didn’t show it. “Um… You know, college preparation things.”

“Oh,” Alex nods his head. “Yeah that, that seems important.” He quickly dries off his hands on his jeans. “Text me later, okay?”

“Sure.” He watches Alex cross the room, picking up his jacket and saying a quick goodbye. The door closes, leaving the once lively room to sit in sudden silence. John washes his hands before placing his head onto them. He slumps lazily on his couch, the sliver of a white envelope catching his eyes.

“I guess they didn’t see it,” he mumbles, staring directly at his acceptance letter from a university hidden under a bowl on the coffee table, as if it had been trying to hide from the company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of the new rating? Too high? Too low?


	12. The A Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The leadership class is given the task of decorating the rented out ballroom for prom. And guess who's president of the leadership class...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd bet Aaron is Vice President. Angelica must be treasurer.
> 
> Prom is getting closer! And so is the inevitable question that comes after every senior romance... What happens after high school?

Alex tapped his temple in concentration. “Hm… I’m not sure we’d want that hanging so close to the door. How about we throw one side over that hook over there?”

Aaron groans dramatically. “Please don’t make me move again. I’ve been holding this decoration up for hours and we still haven’t even hung it up yet.” He carefully climbs down the ladder, Alex keeping it steady from the bottom. He’s halfway down when Alex suddenly shakes the ladder.

“Do _not_ do that!” Aaron breaths heavily. “This is why I voted against you becoming president of the leadership class!”

Alexander caught the attention of the other students in the room with his loud crackling. “Stop being so stiff, Aaron!” He was still laughing when Aaron reached the bottom, shoving him harshly.

“This was you plan all long, wasn’t it?” Aaron points his finger and jabbed it into Alex’s chest, scowling in annoyance. “You’ve been moving around this banner so that you can murder me and claim it an accident!” He folds it unevenly and throws it in Alex’s face. “Find someone else to put that up! I’m going to get some tea…”

Alex wipes the tears from his face. “Oh, Aaron. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.” He watches Aaron open the double doors of the room and his smile falls. “Aaron?” The doors close loudly. Alex huffs, grabbing the banner from the floor. “Guess I’ll put it up myself. Your fault if I fall and break something.” He climbs up the ladder, stepping carefully so as to not unbalance it and cause it to fall. He hears someone’s footsteps approaching quickly, but is surprised when he turns to see Hercules gripping the base of the ladder. “Oh. Hey.”

Hercules gave him a skeptical look. “You trying to die or something? Don’t you remember what happened to Kitty when she had that spinning ball light and tried hanging in the middle of the gym for homecoming?”

“No?” Alex motioned for him to continue.

“She took off her heels, which, I mean, at least she thought about that, but the ladder tipped over and she broke her arm. And sprained an ankle. Which meant she couldn’t run in the finals.” Alex looked confused. “She’s in cross country. Varsity.”

Alex whistles. “Damn. I heard they didn’t win. And they were undefeated for the last five years.” He shakes his head, this time in pity. “Thanks for the help, by the way. Burr left me to die, so I was hoping to fall and sue him later.” He ties the corner of the ‘ _Welcome to Senior Prom_ ’ banner, blue with silver sequence littered around the letters. “How much you’d think I could have made? Twenty hundred thousand? Fifty?”

Hercules yawns. “Dude. You lost me.”

Alex nods. “Right. A hundred thousand.” He waves his hand. “Anyways, how’s it been? Your classes let up?”

Hercules scoffs. “Yeah, right. Aside from leadership, I’ve got an end of the year essay due tomorrow, a report on some play about feminism that I haven’t read yet, and don’t even ask me about Calculus.” He sighed, Alex staring at him sympathetically. “Football season’s over so I can’t alleviate my stress there. Just a lot of shit, ya know?”

Alex climbs down the ladder, humming understandingly. “Congrats on the win, too. I saw the highlights on the school website; you got like a thousand yards, huh? And twelve touchdowns during the season. Apparently that’s a good thing in football. Oh, but all the buzz has been around that other dude, the one who tackled the opposing team like, every game and then some.” He laughs once he touches the ground. “Just wait ‘till he develops depression, becomes an addict, and has anxiety disorders in his early forties. See how many kudos he gets then.”

Hercules chuckles, his shoulders bouncing at the intensity. “Fucking shit, Hamilton. I’d be arguing with you if you weren’t defending me.” He moves the ladder towards the other side of the wall, where the large hook was pinned. “That dude was trash anyways. Only made the team ‘cause he had moderately better grades than the rest of us.” He steadies the ladder. “Right here?”

Alex gave him a thumbs up. “Perfect.” He took the other side of the banner and climbed again, holding the string between his teeth.

“Oh good.” He arches his head to see Aaron out of the corner of his eye, holding a steaming styrofoam cup in both hands. “I was afraid you’d fall and then sue me.”

Hercules almost gasped. “That’s exactly what he said.”

Alex tied the string to the hook. “Hey, Aaron, can you grab that bag of rubber bands by the boxes and toss me one? This won’t stay put.” He drops his hands, waiting a few seconds for the string to let loose and fall lazily off the hook. “Holy shit, you actually got tea? Why do they have tea here and no coffee? What is this, Britain?”

Aaron placed his cup on the ground and walked over to the pile of boxes of decorations placed hazardously around the floor. “There’s coffee, too, I just wanted something lighter. You should try it sometime, Alexander, I’m sure it’ll do you good.”

Alex waves him off, almost dropping the rubber band Aaron threw at him. “What about you, Hercules? You a tea or coffee guy?”

Hercules shrugged. “I prefer energy drinks. Monster, Red Bull, all that good stuff.”

“Even in the morning?”

“No shit,” he responds normally. “How do you think I still have the energy to run a thousand yards?”

Aaron and Alex stare at each other, both profoundly surprised at the revelation. Aaron rubs his temple. “Huh.” He picks up his cup from the floor and takes a long sip. “…I take it back, Alexander. You’re not the most caffeinated person in the world.” He tips his cup towards Hercules. “Cheers.”

Hercules pauses. “Uh, cool.” Alex starts down the ladder. “To be honest, I didn’t even know you two were in leadership. I was kinda excused from the meetings ‘cause of football, so I didn’t know many people here.”

Alex laughs, scaring Hercules. “So I guess you didn’t know Angelica was also here?”

As if summoned, Angelica walks through the double doors. “Hey, you finally got the banner up! Looks nice, good job.” She tip toed around the boxes, her heels clicking loudly on the ground. “How’s it been without me? Lonely, boring, the sun hidden behind dark, looming clouds?”

“Why have you been recently missing meetings?” Aaron asked, concerned. “You don’t have any excuses.”

“Hey,” Alex interjects. “I’m the president; she should be answering to me.”

Angelica ignores him, still facing Aaron. “I’ve had to stay home for a while. Got into an argument with my father, and he didn’t let me out after school.” She grabs her hair, unconsciously straightening it out.

“Uh oh,” Alex whispers to Hercules. “Daddy problems.” Angelica turns to him, a serious frown on her face. He pauses, unsure of the cause of her attitude.

“I’m going to get some tea,” she says after a long, disturbing pause. They all watch her heels click away, the double doors slowly inching until they close quietly.

Alex stares at the two of them. “What’d I do?”

Aaron shrugs. Hercules pats his shoulder. “Women, am I right?”

 

 

“So we’re still undecided,” Aaron finishes, out of breath. “But I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“That’s some crazy drama right there,” Hercules points out. “You’ve got some weird ass dude goin’ around stalking your girl? Don’t you have like a restraining order?”

Aaron shakes his head. “Theodosia thinks that’s going too far. She knew the guy before we started dating, said there was a misunderstanding about their relationship, and he’s been calling her nonstop ever since.” He peeled off a bright yellow sticker from the sheet. “As long as he’s still around, she’s too scared to go anywhere with me. Including prom night.”

Hercules flattens out a star-shaped sticker placed on the wall. “That’s bullshit, no offense. She scared about him hurting her?”

“About him hurting me,” Aaron clears up. “Which is ridiculous. If I ever see the guy, you’ll bet I’ll fuck him up right then and there. Asshole’ll get what he deserves.”

“ _Woohoo_!” Alex slaps Aaron’s back, excited by his cursing. Aaron is usually a laid back guy, so hearing him use those words so crudely is a rarity. “That’s my boy!” Aaron shrugs him off, though he’s trying hard to hide the smirk on his face. “But I have to agree with Hercules. She should have more faith in you.”

Hercules makes a desperate noise. “See, that’s the problem with girls these days! They ain’t got no faith in their man! Jess, the girl I was with last month, we had the exact same problem!” He grabbed a box full of balloons and placed it on the stool next to him. “She thought I wasn’t gonna graduate and was like, ‘ _Oh, I can’t be with no man who don’t know how to count and shit_.’ Not an exact quote, but you get me.”

Alex laughs, stretching a balloon to prepare it beforehand. “You are graduating though. Why’d she leave you then?”

“Oh, no. I left her. If she doesn’t believe in me, I don’t think she likes me as much as she says she did.”

Aaron raises an eyebrow. “Theodosia isn’t like that. She just doesn’t want the attention it’ll bring if we go to the cops. He hasn’t done anything against the law, so that’s also why.” He blows up a blue balloon, then stops once he realizes he blew it up too much.

“This here,” Alex points to nothing in particular, “this is why I decided to go in the other direction. Girls are confusing, but John and I have got our shit straightened out. Nothing happening with his father either,” he added, going back to Angelica’s anger a just minutes ago. “I mean, sure, his dad was kinda put off that he waited so long to come out, but he eventually gave in. The dude’s a good father, I’ll tell you that.”

“Plus, I see you two making out at every break,” Hercules sneers. “Not even me.”

“Especially not you,” Aaron jokes.

“Hey,” Alex raises his hands in defense. “It’s not my fault I’m in an awesome relationship with the most awesome person in the world.” He grins and sighs giddily, earning a hard eye roll from Hercules. Alex leans towards him and makes kissing noises, causing Hercules to laugh and push him away.

“Really?” Aaron ties up his ballon, less deflated than before. “That wasn’t what you were texting me last night.” Alex hurriedly shushes him and prompts him to start on another balloon. Hercules glances at the two of them.

“I’m feeling left out.”

Alex shakes his head. “Nothing to worry about. Burr’s just being an asshat.”

“Asshat? That’s a new one.”

Alex throws Aaron’s empty cup at his face.

 

 

“Angelica!” She stops in her tracks, searching for the person who had called out her name.

Aaron raises his hand in greeting. “I’m sorry if Alexander said something intrusive. You know how he is, he barely has a filter for anything he says. Unless it’s with John… Well, you know how he is.” He steps up to her, cautious since she hadn’t turned to face him directly. “Do you want to talk about it? I know you weren’t telling us the full story of why you’ve been out so long. We all know.”

Angelica pulled at her hair. “I… don’t want to bother you all with personal issues. Besides,” she looks at him, her eyes distant, “It’s our last year. We’re supposed to enjoy it. It’s going to be a fun time.” She smiles lightly. “I’m alright, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“We’re all worried about you,” Aaron repeats.

She sighs, dropping her hands to her sides. “Tell Alex I’m sorry for my behavior today. Tell him I’ve just been stressed lately. Which isn’t completely a lie.” She thinks about what she’d just said and regrets having admitted that she hadn’t told the truth before. With Aaron and Alex, they always find a way to get her to talk.

“Maybe you should tell him that yourself,” Aaron says as Alex walks into the hallway leading onto the room they were decorating. He carried stacks of boxes higher than him, and he stumbled around before spotting Aaron.

“Excuse me, mind helping out here?” He takes another two steps before almost tripping on his own shoe, the box placed on top sliding to the right. He’s able to balance it again, though, and then groans when Aaron does nothing to help.

Half of the boxes disappeared from his arms, revealing Angelica to be the one holding them. “Hey.”

Alex glances around the dark hallway. “Hey? Yeah, hey, also, thanks for showing up for your first meeting in months and then leaving literally seconds later.”

“You’re not making this any easier,” Aaron murmurs to him. Angelica signals for him to stop.

“I’m sorry.” Angelica looked at him in the eye. “For leaving you guys. And for, you know, practically ignoring you when I got here. It’s not what a Schuyler would do, as you’d say.” She looked expectantly at the tow of them, awaiting a response. She tapped her foot nervously on the floor, her hands too occupied to tangle themselves in her hair.

“…She hasn’t been drinking coffee this time?” Alex asks Aaron. He earns a light punch to his chest.

“Make fun of me during an intimate moment again and I’ll take back my apology.”

They all laugh as they begin to walk back to the room, a large high-ceiling ballroom the school rented for the senior prom. Aaron held the doors open for them, then followed the two to the tables set up in the back.

“Well, I forgive you.” Alex smiles. “And I won’t push it anymore.”

“Thank you.” They all breath in deeply, relieved to have the situation resolved, at least for the moment.

Aaron searches the room. “Where did Hercules go?”

“Oh,” Alex snaps his fingers after dropping the boxes carelessly onto the floor, “he went with some others to pick out the catering restaurant. I’m think French pastries, but someone wanted Hawaiian and they’re going to take a vote in the back room.” He turned to Angelica. “You’ve missed out on a lot.”

“I can see that.” She opens the flaps of the box, displaying the well designed vases for the centerpieces on the tables. “These look really good. It’s a miracle that I’ve been gone so long and chaos didn’t erupt by now.”

“Oh yeah.” Alex huffed, sliding off his brown jacket as he sat down on a stool. “The class was terrified once they found out the A team would be disbanded.” Aaron and Angelica exchanged disgusted glances. “Are you serious? The A team? You know, because all our names start with an A?”

Aaron face palms. “Yes, Alexander, we get it.”

“Nobody really calls us that, right?” Angelica asks worried.

Alex sits up. “Hey, I like the name! Gives us a rep. Now get to work on the tablecloths, your president is going to take a much needed intermission.” He wraps his jacket over his shoulders to shield his eyes from the lights and places his hand under his head like a pillow.

Angelica drags Aaron away from the napping Alex, then leans into his ear. “I don’t know what John sees in him.” Aaron chuckles.

“I heard that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something's cooking up at the Schuyler household and none of the sisters are liking it...


	13. Sugar and Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no better way to cheer up a lonely man living off of coffee and instant noodles than by sending him chocolates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! Or, you know, if you don't celebrate it, Happy Random Day in November...
> 
> This chapter is set somewhere during the winter holidays. Honestly, I'm just trying to prolong this story. I don't want it to end :(

Alex had been eyeing the stack of nicely wrapped chocolates sitting untouched on the coffee table ever since he’d spotted them. John tried hard not to comment, but at one point, the amount attention, or lack of, Alex gave to him was pretty annoying.

“Do you want some?”

The words snapped Alex back into reality. “Hm?”

John taps the silver wrappings with a finger. “My father shipped these from home as a gift for my birthday last week, but I guess he’s never noticed I don’t like chocolate.” Carefully peeling the tape from the flaps, he opens the wrapping to reveal a dark purple box with a clear plastic displaying the numerous candies. “There’s a ton of different flavors I’ve never tried, though. Do you want some?”

Alex, looking apprehensive, smiles lightly. “These are gifts from your father, John. Are you sure he’d like it if he found out you gave them away to some hippie?”

The comment makes John laugh in a way that twists Alex’s chest. “Then I guess he just won’t find out.” He hands the box to Alex, forcefully pushing it into his hands after he hesitates.

“These… do look nice.” His fingers work to quickly open the box and slide out the tray of chocolates, and something about the way his eyes glimmer and his smile quirks upward tells John that it didn’t take much convincing for him to accept the treats.

Nervous is the first thing his close friends would describe John. Of course, it’d be a joke; the first thing they’d describe him as would be thick headed. Strange, considering he wasn’t the most vocal person. However, when an idea stuck with him, it stuck with him. Most people would be surprised if they found out he was the one to establish the African-American union at their 83% white high school. But they’d understand when they find out he simply established it through written request, and almost no physical interactions occurred, not to mention he didn’t even apply for president.

He faced lost of opposition, in the forms of written posts online, about how it would somehow ruin the school’s reputation or oppress other ethnicities and races. John didn’t let this anger him or make him give up, and after two years (he was then a junior) they accepted his proposal.

And that sort of attitude, the kind of will that forced the school to recognize John Laurens, was what made Alex fall head first into the pit of love.

Or, a very, very deep and heart felt crush.

It might have also has to do with the fact that John was the first person he’d met that didn’t flaunt their wealth knowingly. When he first met Angelica, she wore a cap that cost more than his entire wardrobe. Eliza’s shoes were a different story entirely. Aaron has that typical rich boy air when he regarded Alex with distaste on the first day of class. It was a headache.

John does do that occasionally, but never on purpose. His apartment is cheap, his clothes aren’t overly expensive, he dines like the medium class citizen, and he doesn’t use his last name as some sort of short cut. Everything he’s accomplished is because of his own hard work. Alex couldn’t help but feel intimidated, on some level, of what he could do. The feeling was exciting.

It was also following him around every time he was with John. Like right now.

He feels embarrassed by his behavior, but it’s hardly a bother. He doesn’t get to eat candy much, but chocolate was always his favorite treat. Every birthday, no matter what, he’d save up a week prior simply so that he could buy chocolate. And even then, he’d buy the most expensive ones. White chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate almonds, chocolate pretzels, and everything in between.

If hanging out with John meant he’d be allowed access to treats like these, as well as that pleasant and nerve racking feeling in his chest, then he’d love to come back to his apartment some time soon.

“What is this? Peach filling? Does this even count as chocolate?” He carefully examined the sticky orange filling oozing out of the middle. John nodded and shrugged, not knowing how to talk without embarrassing himself. “You know,” Alex starts, “Eliza once gave me a box of chocolates for valentines, and they were expensive, don’t get me wrong, but these? These are on a whole new level!”

Ah. There it was.

John felt guilty of many things. He felt guilty of leaving his family behind in South Carolina while he went to a prestigious high school in New York. He felt guilty of dropping that bucket of water when he was seven and ruining the carpet.

Right now, he couldn’t help but to feel guilty for really hating Elizabeth Schuyler. Alex always talks about her, always says she’s nice, always compliments her even though she’s never there to hear it. Hating her didn’t derive from anything she did to him, it was simply just that he hated how Alex would talk her up.

“Eliza, huh? You… always talk about her but I don’t think I’ve see her around.”

Alex, licking caramel from his thumb, shrugs. “Pretty big school, you know? It’s a miracle I was able to meet you.” He smiles, and all of John’s hatred melts away in favor of relishing that smile.

“Yeah. I’m glad I met you.”

Alex doesn’t think his chest can take it anymore, and he might start regretting coming over to John’s apartment because John just can’t stop being so cute. The type if force it takes for him to just sit back instead of kissing him until he’s dizzy is insane.

He remembers when Aaron first met Theodosia, and gosh, that was a wreck. It was silly, and admittedly hilarious, when Aaron did outrageous things like buy expensive clothes or eat her favorite foods just to get her attention. But now, he understands Aaron. Alex feels like he would do anything if he found out John liked it. Hell, he’d stop working if John asked him to with those bright beautiful eyes.

“I love chocolates, you know.”

John laughed. “Yeah, I can tell. I don’t mind though, you can take them.”

“If you don’t like chocolates, then what type of sweets do you like?”

“Um.” Alex watched John with careful eyes, making him uncomfortable under the attention. “I like, uh, butterscotch?”

John is so proud of himself tonight. He’s able to have a good conversation with his crush without messing it up completely.

“Wow, butterscotch? Sounds like old grandma candies.”

“Haha, yeah. That’s what my siblings would say. Hey, you should try the peppermint truffles, they’ve got pieces of peppermint in the middle.” Nothing made John more happy than when Alex’s eyes would light up over a simple candy.

 

 

“…You’ve got any winter break plans?”

Alex, multitasking by drawing microorganisms on his sketch pad and moving the diaphragm of the microscope, shakes his head at John’s question. “Just gonna stay home, use my newly bought coffee machine — it’s heaven, by the way — and, I don’t know, rant about Jefferson on Twitter?” John laughed, shaking his head. “Hey, don’t ridicule me! It’s really fun, you should try it sometime. Oh darn, the sample dried. John, could you get another one? Thank you.”

He cleaned the slide and took another drop of water. “Doesn’t sound like much fun to me. Uh, being alone all throughout break, I mean. Don’t you have anyone visiting?” Alex tenses.

They’re both very silent, and John realizes too late that the question probably answered itself a long time ago.

“No, I… No. Nobody’s visiting…” John felt his heat clench. How could it hurt so much to see Alex’s smile disappear? “Oh! But Eliza invited me to the Schuyler house for dinner on Christmas Eve, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Of course. Elizabeth Schuyler.

“Really? She must be nice.” He grits his teeth, trying his best not to sound angry.

Alex doesn’t notice. “She’s the best. Literally. Angelica is nice, when she wants to be, and Burr is… Yeah, I’m not even gonna talk about Burr. But she’s the best, the nicest girl I’ve ever met.”

“Oh.” John doesn’t even realize he’s clicking his pen so rapidly.

“But, you know, you’re the best, nicest _person_ I’ll ever meet.”

His pen stops moving. “…Oh.”

Seeing John blush doesn’t really help Alex’s heart from pumping out of his chest. “I – I mean, it’s just, you’re like… really cool.” He sits up from his stool, accidentally unplugging the microscope from the outlet. “Y-yeah.”

“Yeah.” John bites back an elated sigh. “Thanks. I feel the same way. A-About you. Yeah.”

Thomas jumps from his seat. “Get a fucking room!”

Alex flips him off.

 

 

“Oh, wow. John, you…” Alex was so happy he didn’t even attempt to hide his quiver. “You really didn’t have to…”

In the confines of his own room in South Carolina, John jumps with joy. “I’m so glad you like it! I remembered the first time you came over and I knew you were gonna be pretty lonely during the holidays so I thought I might as well send you some chocolates, the ones you liked so much!”

Alex almost fell over. “You remembered the ones I liked? Gosh, if we weren’t hundreds of miles away I’d kiss you!” He places the phone between his shoulder so he could use his hands to unbox the chocolates from the packaging. “And you sent this before you left for your father’s home? Now I feel guilty for not getting you anything.”

The line was quiet on John’s end. “…Y-you, uh, didn’t have to… get me anything. Um…”

Alex squeals as he slides his hand over the transparent plastic. “But seriously, thank you! Not even Eliza would get me a present that I like this much. For some reason, she thinks I’m into ‘warm clothing’ and ‘healthy food.’ Psh, what kind of a friend.” He smirks, grabbing a truffle and popping it into his mouth, running his tongue over the smooth chocolate.

“Well, uh, I have to go soon. But it was nice talking to you, Alex.”

His heart sank. “Yeah. Have a good break then, John. Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, all that mess.”

“Uh huh. You too.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

“…Bye.”

John laughs awkwardly. “Goodbye, Alex.”

The line went dead. So did Alex’s momentary glee.

He swallows the chocolate, and his smile comes back. “At least I have comfort food now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truffles are a gift.


	14. It's a Bad Feeling With a Good Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even well thought out plans can go wrong if love comes in the way.
> 
> True love, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently writing while listening to the Thor:Ragnarok soundtrack really pumps you up.
> 
> Things to note: John has already come to a conclusion, but Alexander doesn't know what he's doing. This is nearing prom. Really close to prom. It's almost there. Practically next door.

Lafayette almost gasps in relief once he spotted John sitting at the back right hand corner of the school library, nose deep in a calculus study guide.

And then he opens his mouth to scream out his name until he recognizes that this is a library, and there were others in the room that would not appreciate his noise. “John!” he whispers as hard as he can, quickly skipping up to his table. John glances up, searching to his left and then realizes the sound came from in front of him. Lafayette smacks the high tower of books he’d been carrying onto the table, ignoring again the fact that this is a library, and slumps like dead weight into the wooden chair.

“John…,” he says out of breath, swiping away a bead of sweat from his forehead. “Oh dear, what a miracle it is to find you here.”

John glances around blankly. “I think the entirety of the senior class is here, Laf,” he answers using a normal voice volume, earning a sharp shush from Lafayette, who held up his finger to John’s mouth.

“Keep you voice down! And yes, that may be true, but I have not been able to hang out with you or Hercules for what seems to be lifetimes. I thought I would never find you.”

John smiles sympathetically. “We’re all working hard. Just a bit more and then we’re free to go…”

“—But that is not the reason why I was looking for you!” Lafayette stands up. “I was hoping, dear friend, mon ami, that you would be so kind as to help me understand North for my Literature and Composition class?” Lafayette stares expectantly, hoping that the blinding smile he gave would be good enough to convince John to agree. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

“Look, Laf, I really wish I could help, but I’ve got my hands tied.” Lafayette gave him a questioning glance. “Means I don’t have the power. I’ve got to study for this final, and then I’m planning on looking online to find a new apartment. Sorry,” he apologizes, his brow knitting in genuine concern. “I know you’ll do great.”

Lafayette, if possible, slumps lower onto his chair, his head now hidden behind the table. “But John! You are one of the best people to go to for this topic. Where will I ever find someone as competent on writing and English as you…?”

As if conjured by magic, Alex appears from the science and medical health section carrying a thick little book in one hand and a thermos in the other. “Hey, John, do you think they’d let me check out this one? It says it’s reference, but I found it in the nonfiction shelves and so —” he notices Lafayette laying on his seat, watching him with careful eyes. “Oh, uh, hey. Lafayette? How are you? John says all his friends have been caught up with studies and what not.” He takes a seat next to John, inching his chair closer to the table.

Lafayette immediately jumps up from his chair, animated back to life, and smiles politely. “I’m doing fine, thank you for asking. As a matter of fact,” he twists his head innocently, “you are just the scholar I was in search of. I propose, Mister Hamilton, that you please,” he shoves his chair aside and kneels on the floor, “Please help me understand what type of drug Seamus Heaney took to write North.”

A few students around them turn around to glare at his outburst.

John stifles his laugh by hiding in his book. Alex answers, “You want me to like, what, tutor? Sure, I don’t mind. North’s a bit of a drag, but I’ve been meaning to properly meet you anyways.”

Lafayette, satisfied, dusts himself off and stands back up. He points at the thermos. “Please tell me that’s coffee. I can’t believe I’m still awake.”

Alex shakes his head. “Chamomile tea.”

Lafayette leans over the table and cups his ear, as though he’s hearing things. “You? Tea? I’m almost positive that anyone in the student council, decathlon, _and_ leadership club lives off of five hour energy bottles.”

“That’s, ha, that’s… not a bad idea. I would have had coffee in this, but apparently Angelica’s all over this new tea crave and convinced me to try it out.”

“If you’d kept on drinking coffee, I would have had to take both you and Angelica to the ER,” John says not even looking up from his book.

“I’m sorry,” Lafayette backtracked. “Angelica? The scary Schuyler?”

Alex chokes on his sip of tea. “Scary Schuyler!” He laughs as quietly as possible. “Oh man, she’s gonna kick my ass when I call her that.”

“Then don’t call her that,” John whispers.

“She’s been bombarding me with all this research she did on it and I now feel like one of the Sons of Liberty.”

Lafayette frowned, picking at a stray piece of hair and twiddling it through his fingers. His foot tapped impatiently as Alex went on discuss about different tea benefits.

“—So, you know, if you ever get constipated, nasty green tea will do the trick. Tastes like literal grass with dog shit on it, but it does the job. Oh, and speaking of stress, earl grey is a really nice stress reliever. But that also takes like shit, so..."

Lafayette turns to John and points his thumb at Alex. “Does he ever stop talking?” Alex pauses, hands caught in a motion mid air, and waiting for John’s response.

John flips a couple of pages. “Not unless he knows you’re not listening.”

“That’s wonderful,” Lafayette remarks, putting his head into his hand. “If only he’d use his gift for something more useful,” he seethes.

John finally looks up from his book, frowning slightly and shaking his head in disapproval. “Bad Laf. You’re supposed to give thanks to those who offer help.” His finger swings from side to side.

Lafayette huffs loudly. “Thank. You. Alexander.”

The two smiled at him, amused by how his attitude changes with stress. “Now can you please help me with the poem or I swear I’ll dye my hair white to show just how desperate I am.” Lafayette said this with such a seriousness that nobody had the guts to laughed.

 

 

“Ugh!” Lafayette plumps onto the bean bag dramatically. “I’ll never understand this!”

He keeps forgetting the library rule, and this time the students turn to shush him before returning to their work.

“Chill out, dude,” Alex tries to comfort. “You gotta take this easy. Trust yourself.”

“I trust I’ll be the embarrassment of my family when I fail at life. I can’t believe I wasted all that time partying instead of being the great scholar that I pretend to be. Alexander, I will never understand how you do it.”

“You just have to be over confident all the time. That how I work.” Alex takes a sip of his thermos and places it carefully beside him. “And self centered. So you’re always thinking up of ways to make yourself better.”

Lafayette thinks about it for a while, tapping his chin. “Well,” he finally responds, “John does say I’m a self centered French guy with extra long hair.”

Alex laughs. “There you go! You’ve got one off the list.” On his lap sits the book opened to the poem Punishment, thrown by Lafayette when he stumbled on words mid sentence. He tosses it back to Lafayette, who states at it with disgust before begrudgingly opening it. They had to move away from John because he’d complained about their noise level, though he was mostly pointing fingers at Lafayette’s annoying groans and whines, so they decided to sit by the kids reading section with the colorful bean bags.

From the moment they moved away, Lafayette noticed something change. Maybe it was the leg twitching, maybe it was lost stares he’d have before snapping back into reality, or maybe it was that his eyes would fall onto the lonely table in the right hand corner of the library.

Whatever the reason, Lafayette’s eyes don’t lie. Alex was worried.

“You know,” Lafayette starts carefully, scanning through every single word before letting them leave his mouth, “I like to think that you’re an honest man. A good, honest man.”

“Ah ah ah, that’s not gonna work, French press. Read the next verse or I’m reporting you to John. Stop trying to find excuses to avoid —”

Lafayette interjects. “You misunderstand. I am French, yes, which is why I’m asking you this, as a friend of a friend.” Alex pauses, realizing he was completely serious. “Are you alright?”

“Uh.” Alex turns his body to fully face Lafayette, giving him a questioning stare. “Am I… alright?”

Lafayette puts the book down, lowering his voice to a hush. “Somethings wrong. Your behavior, your,” he waves his hands in motions Alex doesn’t understand, “your air, something about it tells me that there’s a trouble eating at you.” He watches Alex bite his lip, averting his eyes, and, as Lafayette predicted, glances behind to see John’s hunched figure.

“Look, it’s…,” Alex sighs, running a hand through his hair, “I’m alright.”

“It’s about John?”

“He’s so nice to me.”

“Something you did?”

“I like to think I treat him... like the sun.”

“Weird analogy, but I suppose I get the picture. Hm, what about, maybe… Is there something you disagree on?”

“Yeah, but those arguments usually end in us making out.”

“Oh. I don’t think I needed to know that.” Lafayette rubs his temple, shaking his head while Alex stares hopelessly behind himself again. “Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess until the library closes?”

Alex runs a nervous hand through his hair, the ponytail cutting his hand from continuing. “Look at him.” He smiles sweetly at John, who quickly writes notes into paper, unaware of the admiring eyes watching him from afar. “I kinda want to brag. I know he hasn’t told you yet, and he’s gonna be mad for ruining the surprise, but he got accepted to his first choice. A university in North Carolina. He’s been bouncy for days.”

John shifts in his seat, then glances up to find his boyfriend smiling at him from across the room. He waves before returning to his notes. Lafayette snorts. “Well that’s… wonderful! I’m admittedly feeling betrayed that he told you the good news before he told me, his best friend of four years, but I’ll manage.”

“Yeah.” Alex sighs, bringing his knees up to his chest. The silence between them is loud, saying too many words for Lafayette to make sense of.

And then, as if it answers everything, Alex awkwardly blurts out, “And I’ve already got someone to crash with when I go to Cambridge.”

Lafayette is completely confused. Was this really about education? “Congratulations. That sounds like a good school. Uh…” He stumbled on his words, “Am I missing something?”

Alex stares, offended.

Lafayette retreats back. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so rude, but I really cannot figure what it is that’s bothering you.” Alex turns his head the other way, rolling his eyes, and Lafayette struggles to hold down his fists. “Fine, don’t tell me.” He accidentally sounded angry, and although he feels that way, he doesn’t know Alex enough to judge.

“… Don’t you,” Lafayette leans closer to hear his voice, “Don’t you ever worry about the future?”

“I worry plenty. Climate change is number one on that list, of course, humans are not doing enough to prevent the emissions of greenhouse gases, and we’re already seeing the effects of our ignorance, in fact, have been for a long time.”

Alex’s eyes glimmer. “For real, though! It’s true! And it’s incredibly infuriating! When will they stop listening to pseudoscience and look at the facts? We’re going to bake if we don’t take immediate course of action—” He looked like he was about to go deep into the topic, but he caught himself. “Wait, hold on. No, not the point.” He clears his throat. “Okay… I meant like, the near future. A-And friends. Don’t you worry about… you know…” He shakes his shoulders, unsure of what he was trying to confess.

It was surprising for Lafayette to find out that a person like Alex existed. He stood above all that opposed him, an enigma, and yet he’d never heard of him before. Soon after the lunch incident, though, he understood why John liked him. John was incredibly smart, sometimes putting down him and Hercules unintentionally. He got into the high school under his own terms, and not by pulling a few strings like many of the undeserving students there. It amazed Lafayette how diligent the guy was, and they often joked about John being too busy to ever go out on dates.

But John and Alex? To many, a freaking power couple. Similar to when a celebrity and an actor would get together with incredible chemistry. If the yearbook included the once controversial ‘Most Likely to Get Married’ category, there would be no doubt that those two would win.

And Alex was sure to have a future where he could put his skills to use. So it couldn’t be that he was worried about his own future.

Alex was still figuring out how to explain to him what the problem was when John popped up in front of them.

“Hey guys. How’s the studying going? I heard Lafayette yelling earlier so I’m guessing not so well?”

They both stare at him as if they’d been caught red handed. John sat down in another bean bag and then realized that the two were still staring at him. “Um.”

“…Terribly,” Lafayette draws out, saving the moment before John could question it. “Alex may be smart, but he’s the worst teacher I’ve ever had.”

“Hey!”

“Not surprised,” John explains. “You talk too fast, and then people can’t understand what it is you’re trying to teach. And then you do that thing where you refer to topics by the same concepts they don’t understand.”

Lafayette exclaims, “Oh, that’s the worst part!” Someone from the tables tosses a ball of paper at him to shut up. He glares in their direction. “He makes me feel stupid. Which, isn’t a far stretch, but I’m not that stupid.” He crushes the ball of paper and then throws it indiscriminately to the students at the tables.

“He’s not trying to,” John says, seeing how Alex grumbled about their ungratefulness. “But, he does do a very good job of making you feel stupid.”

“Traitor.”

John scoots closer to Alex and leans over to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Don’t get so put off, Alex, we’re just teasing.” He doesn’t notice Lafayette watching them deductively.

“You know,” Lafayette decides to say, “you’re lucky that I’m the one here and not Hercules. He would have bothered you two for even holding hands once in a while.”

“Am I supposed to be reading into that or…?” Alex asks, clearly trying to suggest that he suspects something of Hercules. Lafayette and John both refute that at the same time.

“He just doesn’t like public displays of affection.”

“He’s just jealous,” John corrects, “that he still hasn’t gotten someone.”

They all laugh, quietly so as to not feel the retaliation of their peers around the room. “But he does complain quite a bit at school,” Lafayette says. “He complains about those couples that make out under the staircase or in the restrooms.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re not like them,” Alex says, taking a glance at John. Lafayette scoffs, watching as John and Alex both look at him questioningly.

“You’re kidding me, right?” They stare dumbfounded. Lafayette sighs, not even surprised by his friend’s obliviousness. “John, the last time I saw you, you had your tongue down his throat as though he was, ah, how do you say, like he was a lifeline. Like oxygen, or like water, or wifi.”

Alex slides his arm behind John’s hips to pull him in closer. “That was the absolute most American simile I’ve ever heard. Congrats, French press.”

He huffs, first at the reuse of the nickname, and then at the arms tugging John’s hip. “I can’t believe you. You’re going to leave me and Hercules sad and single.”

John snickered. “We’ll still be your friends,” he reminds him.

“Hercules and I,” Alex corrects at the same time.

“Ah! But I can’t have Alex take you away anytime he wants! I knew him longer, I get him longer!” He grabs the ends of John’s bean bag to pull him away from Alex’s grasp. John groans, admittedly tired of how possessive Lafayette had become.

“Actually,” Alex says, rising from his seat, “you can see him for a while. I need to finish some assignments and then I gotta try and sleep for once. Sleep! Can you believe it? Haven’t done that in a while…” He bends down to lay a feather kiss to John’s knuckles, catching both him and Lafayette off guard. “I’ll text you later John! It was nice to see you, Lafayette.”

They observe Alex as he checks out the couple of books he’d held on to and then leaves the library through the metal detectors. Lafayette chuckles at John’s unabashed grin, his careful fingers hovering over the spot where Alex kissed his hand.

“You two are very lovely. Together and apart. I think that’s what makes a good couple.”

“Thank you, Lafayette.” John holds his books tight. “He’s really supportive. And you would not believe how… Oh gosh.” His hair moves like a whip as he turns his head to stare wide eyed at Lafayette. “I haven’t told you yet, have I?”

He shakes his head. “Told me what?”

“So uh, I got accepted to Duke.”

Lafayette nods his head. “Oh, yes, Alexander conveyed that important piece of information to me.”

“Geez, Laf. I wanted it to be a surprise! Don’t be mad, I promise, I didn’t even tell Alex. He found out on his own.”

Lafayette pretends to mull over it. “I accept your apology,” he finally states.

John smiles at Lafayette’s attitude. “Really, you should be congratulating me. The acceptance rate is crazy. Alex sure was happy. He bought me dinner, which, considering the little money he has, was really sweet, and he’s coming over later to help me look for an apartment nearby campus.” He laughs, “Almost like he wants me to leave.”

And then, Lafayette’s eyes widen, his breath catches in his throat, and his mind clears the fog Alex put up when he confessed about having a problem.

“…Where is that, exactly?”

“What, my school? By Durham, North Carolina. Why?”

Why? Well, as Lafayette later discovers, Cambridge happens to be almost 600 miles away from North Carolina, almost eleven hours away, almost five states apart.

And it seems to Lafayette that John shows no concern about that fact.

“My goodness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No angst. Don't you worry. This is a no angst zone. Angst free. Libre de angst.


	15. Aaron Sense is Tingling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With great power comes great responsibility. What does SpiderMan have to do with this chapter? Nothing, but Burr did get bitten by a radioactive spider once, or so Peggy claims.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, sorry for the late update. Finals are here, fires are here (where I live), and holidays are a wreck. December just doesn't want to let go.
> 
> There are two or three more chapters left. Hopefully this is done by New Years.

Aaron could feel the threat before he witnessed it. Peggy once called it spidey sense, his ability to tell when he was going to be put in an uncomfortable situation. In that particular instance, he correctly avoided interrupting a yelling contest between the oldest Schuylers, arguing over an issue even Peggy didn’t know about.

He’s done it multiple times, and helped him with awkward interactions. It’s a prickly feeling on his neck, a slower beat of his heart, that alerts him of something. And it’s happening right now as he’s navigating his way through the empty hallways of the school later in the day, except the feeling is telling him that it’s not entirely empty, and he’s about to regret turning the corner to get to the classroom and —

Oh no.

“Stop fornicating at school!”

That’s it. That’s all he can think to say.

John pulls off of Alex’s neck immediately, and Alex is mildly annoyed before he turns to whoever the fuck interrupted the good time they were having. “What the fuck? Burr?! We’re — We're not _fornicating_!”

“No, but with how low your hand was traveling there you might as well have been.”

Alex huffed. “Oh, shut up.” The two were under the staircase leading up to the next floor, and had been well hidden if they hadn’t made such a ruckus. John is quiet, and for once, the silence is unusual. His flush is apparent even in the shadows of the staircase.

“What are you doing here? I assumed the school had already closed?”

“Okay.” Alex detangles his arms from John’s waist, but somehow still stays flushed close to his body. “If you can move along now, we’ll all go back to our… activities, and we can forget this ever happened.”

Aaron crosses his arms. “And let you two devour each other in public? No way. You do realize there are teachers and staff still on campus, correct?”

“But it’s so late?” John whispers worriedly.

Alex shakes his head, glaring menacingly at Aaron. “Like they’ll even visit this part of campus. The teacher auditorium is in the opposite building, they don’t have any business here—”

Loud, echoing steps come from the second floor going down. The lighting is poor, but Washington’s large figure causes Alex’s words to catch in his throat.

“Hm? Alexander? John? Aaron? What are you three doing here at this hour?” Washington checks the watch on his wrist. “The school’s well past closed.”

Aaron whispers a harsh ‘ _I told you!’_ and Alex waves him off. “We’re here on student union business. Well, John and I are.” He places his hand on Aaron’s shoulder, “Who knows what our dear friend Burr was doing walking around dark hallways.”

“ _I_ ,” Aaron seethes, plying off Alex’s fingers from his shoulder, “was headed to the laboratories. I’d left an important assignment in class and I had no choice but to…”

“To jump the fence and trespass on the school?” Washington finishes for him. Aaron, embarrassed and ashamed, nods his head. Through the loss of focus on them, Alex’s arm snakes around John’s back, earning a shiver from the boy. “Well, I’m positive this action will not happen once more, Aaron?” Again, he nods. “Good. I expect no less from one of my best students. And speaking of best…”

Alex jerks his head up, bumping even closer to John to his the antics he was doing.

“I understand your obligations at the student union, and yet I have no recollection of any meeting occurring this late.” Aaron tries to hide his chuckle as Alex tenses his arm. “Care to explain?”  
  
“Um.” All eyes turn to John. “It… The meeting just got out of hand. I suppose we stayed out later than we should.” Aaron has to cover his mouth to hide his laughter when he hears John’s reasonable yet suggestive excuse. John throws him a look.  
  
“I suppose you did.” Washington hums. “Though this does concern me a bit. It seems quite simple for you lot to evade the final sweep of the school before it closes. Ah, well. I’ll have a look into that tomorrow morning. For now, though, I suggest you two find a more private area to do that. School is not the most appropriate and I hope I don’t see you do this again during school hours, understand?”

Aaron can’t hold it in. He bursts out laughing.

John doesn’t find it as funny, judging from his red beat face. Alex isn’t doing so well either. “Y-yes sir.”

Washington sighs, motioning the three of them towards the exit doors. “You three have a good night.” They said their goodbyes, walked out the door, John stopped Alex from murdering Aaron, and they all made an awkward walk to the parking lot, where their cars happened to be parked right next to each other.

“We should really stop making out under that staircase,” John comments as he slides into the front seat, Alex following and standing outside the car door.

“Hm.” Alex feigns innocence, bending into the inside of the car. “We should… But we won’t.”

“You really should.”

“Can you just not walk in on us?” Alex stares angrily at Aaron from behind him. “Like, it’s like you always know where we are when we do these things. Remember that one time during the lockdown drill where we got stuck in the bathroom and you just happened to be walking by when the alarm rang.”

Aaron completely ignores him in favor of panicking in his seat. “I didn’t get my assignment!”

The loud, evil crackling of Alex echoes in the empty parking lot. “That’s what you get, Burr!”

“Alex, don’t be so rude. Aaron, if the assignment is for that lab Washington wanted us to prepare for, I could send you a copy.”

“Oh.” Aaron is caught off guard, though, he really shouldn’t have, John was always the nicer one. “Yes, thank you. And would you mind teaching your boyfriend how to behave?”

“I’m working on it,” John responds with a smile, and Alex gapes in disbelief. “Shut your mouth, Alex, and get inside. It’s really cold outside.”

Really, sometimes Aaron questions why the two didn’t get together any sooner.

 

“Aha! Look at what I found here!” Thomas claps his hands dramatically, calling attention to nobody because there is no one around other than the two he’s referring to.

“Holy fuck. Can you just leave?”

Thomas shakes his head, his hair swaying at the action. “No, uh, actually, I won’t leave, because what you two,” he makes a circular motion with his hands, “are doing here is absolutely inappropriate. I’m sure there’s something in the school guide that talks about this kind of behavior and I’ll be glad to review that with the principle when I have the time.”

Alex and John separate from each other, once more interrupted while they were kissing (they weren’t going any farther than that this time) in the empty lobby.

“Fine, but have you ever seen the indoor cafeteria? People do things way worse behind the trash bins.”

“So what? As some of the top students of your class, you’re expected to set an example.” He brings his hands down to cross them, trying to intimidate the two with his height.

They glance at each other before Alex speaks up. “So I guess it wouldn’t be wrong if I say you and James smooching in the garden — and yes, don’t pretend like you don’t, John’s been very observant here — and I go to Washington to say that his best students are going at it by the petunias!”

There’s a gasp; John laughs, already accustomed to the feuds Alex has with pretty much everyone in his class. He’s also accustomed to people seeing the two of them making out, and although a part of him wants to feel indignation and embarrassment, whenever Alex’s lips connect with his it’s like he’s in another world and nothing else matters. Who cares if people find it annoying, or even worse, disgusting? To finally have Alex’s attention, to have his arms wrapped around him, to see Alex eye to eye… That was everything he ever wanted.

“How dare you!” Thomas is ticked off now. “At least when I’m with James I try to find a private area!”

“We’re in a private area too! Nobody takes these stairs!”

“Ha! That’s obviously not true, considering how I took these stairs and happened to stumble on you!”

“And that’s your fault! Go take your pompous ass someplace where my John doesn’t have to look at your disgusting face!”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t include me in this argument, Alex.”

“Okay, John.”

“What are you two yelling about this time?” Washington looms over them like a skyscraper, and Alex hides his face into his scarf even though it’s not that cold inside.

John backs away from the scene. “I’m not involved, sir.” Alex dramatically places his hand on his chest in offense.

Washington nods. “I figured you were collateral damage. Alexander, Thomas, come with me.” John mouths ‘ _I’m sorry_ ’ while Alex is dragged to the office, where he is given another long, boring, lecture.

 

“I know it’s not my place to ask, so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” John has to stretch his neck to see Washington from his seat, “but how did your father take your relationship with Alexander?”

“You’re not imposing, sir. I’m happy to say that my father took it quite well. It was no small feat to come out to him, but he was quite approving of Alex.” The room was warm, almost hot, ever since the air conditioners on the second floor stopped working. John had to fan himself with the collar of his shirt and shake off his jacket to keep from sweating.

Washington hums. “I’m glad. I assumed it had turned out well, seeing as how you two are always happy. And you’re going to prom as well, I heard? That must be exciting.”

Recalling the memory of Alex freaking out about his collection of expensive suits, John chuckles. “It sure is. Though, Alex is having a bit of trouble choosing his outfit. I told him he shouldn’t worry about it too much, but he insisted on finding something nice. He told me he’s going over to a friend’s to help him out.”

“Ah, yes. He was never one to care about what he wore. Well,” Washington smiles at John, “I hope to see you there. And I’m sorry for this inconvenience about the heat. I won’t have anyone come in to fix it until next week, and by then you’re practically all leaving.”

The door to the classroom opens, revealing Alex breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. The students all stare at him for an explanation. He shrugs, “The second floor restrooms got flooded.” The class groans.

Thomas turns in his seat. “Are you sure it wasn’t you that flooded it?” He smirks at the small giggle someone lets out from the back of the room.

“Thomas,” Washington warns. He shakes his head and rubs his face. “Alexander, please return to your seat. If anybody wants to use the restroom, the elevator key is by the door. Now get back to work.” The students dutifully obey.

 

Through the loud noise of traffic on the road beside him, John can still hear his younger siblings yelling in the background of the phone call.

“As you can see,” Henry Laurens sighs, “The house is as rowdy as usual, even after your departure. Perhaps they’ve gotten more hyper. To be terribly honest, I’m not sure how I’ve been able to keep up, especially now that they know you’ll be studying so close.”

“It’s not that close. Besides, they’re growing up. They should learn to be more responsible and mature.” John entered his apartment, dropping the keys on a nearby counter and flopping carelessly on the couch.

The call is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, I think Jemmy is throwing another tantrum. I don’t think you ever threw a tantrum when you were little.”

“Oh, don’t compare them to me, that only forces them into a behavior they might not like. Though I do recall mother telling me once that I cried the first few years I went to school. Apparently I refused to let go of her hand and she had to accompany me inside for the first day of kindergarten.”

“Yes,” his father chuckled, “that was quite the experience. Well, enough about the children, I did have another reason to call you.” He whispered something hushed to one of John’s siblings before continuing. “Has the outfit I picked out for you arrived yet?”

John craned his head to check the front door he had just walked through to check if anything had indeed arrived. He shook his head then spoke up, realizing his father couldn’t see him. “I don’t believe so. I’m sure it’ll get here soon, you shouldn’t have to worry about it. And I can’t thank you enough for it. I can hardly wait for prom; funny, considering I always found the event to be so useless.”

“And I suppose I won’t be catching Alexander this evening either? Every time I call, he’s simply never around, or he’s busy, or I just missed him, and so on. I’m starting to think you don’t even want me to meet him, Jack.”

John shuffles his legs nervously, and it showed in his voice. “I promise you’ll get to know him one day. It’s just… I don’t know, it’s just a little nerve wracking. I don’t know.”

His father smiles, evident by the lighter tone in his voice. “He’s a good boy, Jack. You don’t have to stress, I already like him. If he was able to capture you despite who he is, then I feel even more compelled to meet him.”

 _Despite who he is_. The words, though said with no fire, rubs John in the wrong way. “That’s… That’s not how it works, father. I think I’ve explained this enough to you.” He shuts his mouth before he can say anything to escalate a perfectly normal conversation.

“Really? That’s how I see it… I’m sorry, Jack. You know, this is new for me. An old man can only try to understand the young world nowadays.”

John laughed, “You’re not old, father.”

The response is lighthearted. “No? Tell that to the white hairs that seem to grow exponentially.”

The phone buzzes, and he pulls away to read the message Alex sent him. “You’ll meet him,” John reiterates. “And you’ll love him.”

“I’m sure I will.”

 

“You know,” Alex whispered breathlessly against John’s lips, “I’m starting to think — this is my new favorite spot.”

“Your… your spot?” John’s head is trying hard to comprehend the words Alex said but it’s hard, he refutes, to think properly when his arms are wrapped around his hips and his mouth is leaving red spots all over his neck. He wonders briefly what his father would think of his good, innocent son desperately making out with someone in broad daylight, no shame or embarrassment left in himself to care.

Eh, well. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“Yeah, it’s quiet here. Privacy and all that.”

“Oh.”

“Uh huh.” A soft press of his lips. “Don’t want anyone walking in and freaking out. Which is always such a bother, honestly, I’m sorry about all that.”

John shakes his head. “Really, it’s not a big deal—” They meet in the middle, searching for each other’s warmth. “I don’t… mind.”

Aaron is walking to class, indulging in a small novel when he looks up to see yet again another make out session taking place before his very eyes. Not that it’s uncommon to see teenagers doing those things in high schools, it’s just really inconvenient that he happens to know those teenagers.

“You know what,” he says as the couple jumps at the sound of his voice, “I don’t even care anymore.” He flips to the next page of his book and continues on his way to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I am so good at third wheeling it's like a skill.
> 
> I feel you, Burr.


End file.
